In Your Dreams
by Edward's Grey-Eyed Girl
Summary: When Bella arrives at Thomas Academy, the moment she sees Edward Cullen, they both know their lives will never be the same. But when lies lead to misunderstandings, love is out of their reach. What will it take to bring them together? All Human. E B
1. First Sight

**Disclaimer: If I was Stephenie Meyer and owned Twilight, thus owning Edward Cullen, I would definitely not be here writing about it... I would be living it! Unfortunately, since this is the story of my life, I'm eternally grateful to Mrs. Meyer for creating it and making the world a better place. **

As the taxi pulled through the tree-lined drive, the building that rose ahead made me catch my breath. It looked like something out of a movie, one of those old preparatory schools built of stone with ivy trailing up the sides. In the soft light of the evening, the gray stones looked warm and inviting. It was hard to believe I was actually going to be attending school at this impressive institution, but thinking about that reminded me why I was here in the first place. I could feel the pain start to creep in and quickly averted my thoughts back to my new school. The engraved words above the front doors read, "Thomas Academy, Established 1901." My heart gave a couple of quick beats and I had to remind myself once again, _It's only high school, and they're only people, just like you, Bella. Just smile and don't trip._

This last instruction was definitely necessary and I immediately doubted my ability to follow my own advice as I got tangled with my seatbelt and tumbled out of the taxi's door. Thankfully I didn't fall over completely and no one had observed my most recent loss of balance. Sighing again at my clumsiness, my own personal curse, I carefully stepped away from the car, helped the driver unload my luggage from the back, and paid him with the money Renee had given me. I trudged toward the massive front doors and towed both of my two suitcases inside, returning for the boxes I'd left on the walk. Once inside, the main office was easily found to my right and I pushed the door open. The woman sitting behind the front desk looked up and smiled.

"How may I help you, dear?" she asked me.

"I'm Bella Swan- well, Isabella, actually- and I've just arrived for--"

"Oh yes! We've been looking forward to your arrival, Isabella." I winced at my full name. Bella was more to my liking, much less formal. "Just a moment and I'll find your file with your schedule… here it is. Also, you might appreciate a map of our grounds here at Thomas, although you've probably received one with your orientation papers in the mail. Don't worry, though, we will find an available student to give you a tour this evening before classes tomorrow."

"That would be nice," I managed to say, before she continued.

"Do you happen to have the medical history and health paperwork with you? We understood you were bringing it with you today," she told me.

"Right, it's in one of my bags in the hallway. Let me go find it," I said, and turned to leave the office. Opening the door, I was too absorbed with studying my schedule to notice anything else until I slammed into someone and dropped my papers. "Oh, I'm so sorry!" I exclaimed, blushing at the new display of my familiar inelegance. I looked up into a pair of bright blue eyes and an appreciative smile.

"Hey, no problem. Um, I don't think I've met you before… Mike Newton." He gazed at me and stuck out his hand, and I shook it, my face still bright pink.

"Bella Swan," I said.

"So is this your first year here at Thomas?" he asked conversationally as he bent to gather the papers I had dropped. He gave them back to me and smiled again, saying, "I'm sure I would remember seeing you before."

"Thanks. It's my first year," I admitted.

"Well then, welcome to Thomas! Do you need any help getting your stuff to your room?" he began, when we heard the secretary's voice coming through the door behind us.

"Actually, Mike, are you available to give Miss Swan a tour this evening? She just arrived and will be a junior, just like you."

"Sure!" he grinned widely. "I'd be happy to show her the grandeur that is the Academy. Where's her room? We can drop her stuff off and then go from there."

"Medsen Hall, Apartment 26. Thank you, Mr. Newton," she said, and I handed her the medical forms she had requested.

Mike and I set off out the front doors and down the walk to the left. When we rounded the corner of the main building, I saw another building in front of us, a two-story structure that looked considerably newer than the one I had just been in.

"I guess I'll start your tour here," Mike said, "This is Medsen Hall, the girls quarters. I'm not sure what you're expecting, but they're actually really nice. We just had them remodeled last summer and so far everyone's really enjoyed the setup."

We lugged my stuff inside and he led me through the halls until we arrived at a door that said "26" on the plaque above it. He knocked twice and we heard footsteps running to open the door. It swung wide and a girl with straight brown hair and green eyes stood in the doorway. She looked at me appraisingly, but when her gaze turned to Mike, a coy smile immediately appeared on her face.

"Well, hello Mike! I haven't seen you forever!" she said brightly, and Mike smiled his usual friendly smile back.

"Hey Jess! Good to see you too. Bella, this is Jessica Stanley- Jess, this is Bella. She's your other roommate."

"Hi," I said. Jessica gave me a quick smile and right away returned to beaming at Mike.

I was about to ask what he meant by other roommate, when another girl appeared at Jessica's shoulder. She was tall, slender, and had shiny blonde hair that fell to the middle of her back. "Hi Lauren," Mike said. "This is your other roommate, Lauren Mallory," he told me.

"I'm Bella," I said, and Lauren smiled back. Maybe it was just me, but it looked like she had sized me up and found no threat. This was old news for me; I knew I was excruciatingly ordinary. Average height, small build, not athletic, long brown hair, and brown eyes completed my description, nothing compared to her striking beauty.

"I'm just dropping Bella's stuff off at her room for her, then I'll be taking her on a campus tour," Mike filled in my new roommates on our schedule for the evening.

"Sounds great! Mind if I come along? I would love to help show Bella the Academy!" Jessica gushed, batting her eyelashes at Mike.

"Uh, yeah sure!" Mike answered, and Jessica smiled radiantly.

"Come on Jess, let's get her stuff inside, and then you guys can go," Lauren said. I saw a wink pass between them and what I had guessed was confirmed. Jessica had scored time with her big crush, Mike Newton.

When we entered the room, I was surprised at the lay out. The door opened into a sort of living room, complete with a couch, chair, TV, mini fridge, and shelves of movies and CDs for the stereo. It looked like a college dorm, not a high school boarding school. I had been expecting something much less… well… modern. Off the common room were four doors, two to each side. Lauren and Jessica explained that the two to the right were their rooms, and mine was to the left, next to the bathroom we all shared. It looked great to me! I could understand what Mike had said about everybody enjoying the new setup. We moved my things into my room and Mike, Jess, and I left for my big tour.

Thomas Academy was a beautiful school; I had known that from the pictures on the brochures sent to my home in Phoenix. But to see it in real life made everything hit home for me. I was actually going to be attending a private school in northern California. The thought was strange. First we went back to the main building, and Mike told me that all classes were held there on the second and third floor. The right half of the ground floor were faculty offices and the left half was the dining hall. We walked through the upper floors and Mike found each of my classes for me. I hoped I could remember where they were again tomorrow. Then we left out a back door and I could see Medsen Hall to the right. Directly opposite, separated by a courtyard of trees and benches, was an identical building, which Mike told me was Kimball Hall, the guys quarters.

"Technically, there are certain hours guys and girls are allowed over to the other rooms, but sneaking back and forth isn't that hard," Jessica informed me, giggling. "You should come over and hang out sometime, Mike."

"Yeah, that would be fun. I could come see how you're doing, Bella." Jessica didn't look especially thrilled by that comment and I wasn't sure what to say, so I just let Jessica continue her conversation with Mike. He was really friendly with me, maybe too friendly, and I didn't exactly know what to do with that. In Phoenix, I'd never had an issue with guys being interested in me and I had no idea what Mike was thinking. I figured my best bet was to not give him any encouragement other than basic friendship. If he wanted anything more than that, a certain girl named Jessica would be more than happy to oblige.

In fact, I couldn't believe how oblivious Mike seemed to be to Jessica's obvious interest. She laughed at everything he said, asked him about his summer, and compared class schedules. I began to zone out as she dominated the conversation while we walked past the gymnasium, the tennis courts, and the swimming pool toward a path cutting through a line of trees that I had thought marked the boundary of campus. With Jessica hanging on Mike's arm and giggling about how dark it was in the trees, we emerged on the other side facing a huge lawn. Neatly trimmed grass stretched out in front of us and to our right I could see soccer fields and bleachers.

Since it was only Sunday night and school didn't start until the next morning, there weren't many students out on the lawn. I figured most were probably moving their stuff into their rooms, like I would be doing that night. The weather was beautiful, perfect for being outside, and the soft breeze played through my hair. There were some groups of kids dotting the lawn, a few girls walking together, a bunch of guys yelling boisterously- male bonding after a long summer, probably- a group of people throwing a Frisbee. Pretty much, just a lot of people chilling together. If they weren't all strangers and I didn't feel so alone, it would have been a relaxing scene, something about school to look forward to. Mike was telling me something about the gatherings they had had on the lawn last year… when I saw them- him.

A little ways away from us, two girls and three guys were hanging out. The girls sat back on the grass, leaning on their hands, alternately watching the guys and laughing together. One had a statuesque figure to die for and blonde hair that waved gently to her waist and the other one's locks were shiny, dark, and fashionably spiked which exactly fit with her tiny, pixie like frame. Both were beautiful. In front of them, the guys were passing a soccer ball back and forth. They were obviously just having fun, but I could tell that they were really good. The dark, curly haired guy was the tallest and I could see from where I was standing that he was muscled like a serious weight lifter. He headed the ball to the honey blonde one, whose tall, lean frame was the ultimate definition of a California heartthrob as he skillfully handled it, passing it from knee to knee before kicking it over to the last guy. When my gaze settled on him, suddenly breathing was difficult.

His stance was relaxed, fluid as he trapped the ball. I could see the definition in his arms and calves as he moved with the passes between his feet, and I swallowed hard when I stared at his face. Bronze hair tousled in the breeze over a face that could have belonged to a model. The smooth forehead, straight nose, chiseled cheekbones, and strong jaw line were perfect. He was perfect. He laughed at something the blonde guy said, and flipped the soccer ball into the air above him, turning slightly to catch it. In that moment, our eyes met and my heartbeat became slightly erratic.

His eyes were breathtaking. Even across the distance that separated us, I could tell their unique ocher color was like nothing I had ever seen. Those pools of warm gold swallowed me and I could feel heat rising to my cheeks. I forgot that I was staring. I forgot everything but him. He stood frozen as the ball dropped in front of him, until the dark haired guy yelled, "Edward! Quit being a ball hog and pass it back!"

He- _Edward_, I pronounced it carefully in my mind- snapped out of his momentary immobility and quickly lofted the ball back to his friend. My own frozen state had not gone unnoticed either; Jessica followed my gaze and leaned in to whisper in my ear. "That's Edward Cullen. He's pretty much the most gorgeous thing on campus, but don't even bother. He and Lauren are basically together." I nodded wordlessly. It made sense for two such beautiful people to be a couple, but even if Lauren wasn't in the picture, his perfection was unattainable for someone unordinary like me.

Mike began to notice that we weren't paying attention to his little speech, and suggested that we head for the main part of campus. As we all trooped toward the path that led back through the trees, I couldn't help but glance back at the bronze-haired god- Edward. I was sure I imagined it, but it looked as though his head was just turning back from my direction. I sighed and the scene disappeared through the trees.

Dusk was just falling when Mike dropped Jessica and me off at our room. As soon as the door had closed, Lauren began questioning Jessica. "So, how'd it go?"

"He's just as hot as he was last year," Jessica sighed, her eyes dreamy, "and the year before that…" I reflected doubtfully on what she said. Mike looked like any other guy to me. Sure he was cute, with a baby-face and spiked blond hair, but not my type. What was my type? Unbidden, my mind slipped back to the image of Edward Cullen. _Hmm, _I reflected darkly, _my type must be "impossibly beyond my reach." Sounds promising, Bella. _But just remembering his gorgeous features sent a small surge of heat to my cheeks.Fortunately before I got too deep in my memory, Jessica's voice snapped me back to reality. "He really seemed interested in my volleyball tournaments this summer. I think that's a good sign!"

"That's great, Jess!" Lauren encouraged excitedly. "This is totally going to be the year you two get together. You guys were made for each other."

"Thanks Lauren, I hope you're right!" Jessica beamed.

Then Lauren turned to me. "How was the tour, Bella? Thomas Academy everything you thought it would be?"

"It's a beautiful campus," I said. "And I think I know my way around now, so I feel a little better about everything."

"That's good. So where are you from? Jess and I didn't know anything about who we'd be rooming with this year or even that we'd be sharing our apartment, so tell us about yourself," Lauren said.

Her words made me feel like an intruder, but I pushed the feeling away. "Um, I'm from Phoenix, and my first two years of high school, I went to one of the public schools there. My mom decided it was time for a change this year, and shipped me up here. It looked nice…" I trailed off, the wrenching pain in my chest choking my words as I was reminded of the reason behind that change.

"Cool," Jessica said. "I'm sure you'll like the Academy. It's way better than big, dirty, public high schools. And we'll be here for you, right Lauren? We'll introduce you to everyone worth knowing, so don't worry."

"Right, we'll take care of you," Lauren agreed, her smile slightly condescending on her otherwise pretty features. "Do you want any help unpacking?"

"Thanks," I told them, "And no, I think I'll be fine." They wished me a good night and I went to my room. Closing the door, I sat on the bed and shut my eyes, finally allowing the grief to come to the surface. The only reason I was here right now, sitting on this bed, in the middle of this amazing campus, in a whole different state, was because my dad was dead.

I let the tears slide down my cheeks as I remembered the circumstances that had brought me to this place. Charlie had been one of the police chiefs of Phoenix for several years, and my mom Renee and I knew that he had a dangerous job. But nothing really awful had ever happened to him, just the random bruise from dealing with a street fight, or a story about a gun being pulled on him when he searched a drug smuggler's car.

Until that day last April when the gun was actually fired.

Charlie was shot in the chest, puncturing a lung. The doctors couldn't do anything to help him, just keep him alive for a few hours while Renee and I cried and said goodbye. After his death, weeks passed before we could start sorting through his things. Among his papers, we found that he had kept up with his life insurance payments, and a note on the bottom of the first page said, "If anything happens, for Bella's education. Go to college, little girl!" Another tear dripped onto my lap as the words echoed through my mind.

But as the summer passed, I couldn't bear the thought of staying in school in Phoenix. There were too many memories, and I just couldn't handle being in a place that hadn't changed after my whole life had shifted. Renee and I researched other options, and the moment we saw Thomas Academy nestled in the gorgeous scenery of northern California, we knew it was the answer. We would be able to pay for my final two years of high school here, along with a good portion of college after I graduated.

Taking a deep breath, I stood up and made up my mind to make an effort here. Far away from what I knew, I would make a new start. I already had two built-in friends, my new roommates. Lauren and Jessica seemed friendly enough, and they had already promised to introduce me to other people. And I guessed that Mike counted himself as a friend too, so that made three. I unzipped my bags and pulled out my wardrobe, hanging shirts in the closet and folding shorts and pajamas in the drawers of the dresser. Opening the boxes, I set up the decorations I had brought: a few picture frames of my family, a small lamp for the nightstand, and a couple of sentimental trinkets here and there. Setting my computer on the desk, I connected all the power cords, and turned it on. Sure enough, there was an email from Renee, asking if I had arrived safely and if I liked it and what was the weather like and if she didn't hear from me within ten hours of my scheduled arrival, she was going to catch a plane herself looking for me.

I smiled ruefully at my mom's worried tone and set to answering the email. I still had another couple of hours, but Renee was known to jump the gun at times. _Hey Mom, _I typed, _I'm here! All the traveling went fine, and I got here safely. I've already met a couple of people and my new roommates seem nice. The weather is great, and once I've actually been here for 24 hours, I'll probably have some news for you. I'm going to bed now to try and rest before classes tomorrow, but I'll let you know how they go later. I love you! _I clicked the send button and turned my computer off. After carrying my toiletry bag into the bathroom and washing my face and brushing my teeth, I changed into a tank top and boxer shorts and climbed into bed. The last thing I remembered before I drifted off to sleep was a pair of warm golden eyes staring into mine.

* * *

Edward's POV

I glanced at the clock next to my bed and was frustrated to read 11:47. Almost midnight, and I still couldn't fall asleep. Silence drifted from Emmett and Jasper's rooms across the apartment and I knew they were already asleep. What was wrong with me? It couldn't be first day of school anxiety; I'd attended Thomas Academy since my freshman year, and I would be a junior this time around. Classes would be easy, the soccer season looked good, and I had Emmett and Alice and of course Jasper and Rosalie. So what was keeping me from just falling asleep? If I didn't get rest soon, I would be worthless tomorrow at practice. I rolled on my back and closed my eyes, but all I could see was her face.

I didn't even know her name. We'd all been hanging out on the lawn tonight, Jasper, Emmett, and I messing around with a soccer ball, and Rosalie and Alice watching. After a long summer, I was ready to be back at school for another year, not that it was so much different from home. Jasper and Rosalie were constantly over at our house all summer to be with Alice and Emmett, and I was glad that I got along so well with my brother and sister's girlfriend and boyfriend. We were all practically family and friendship between us was effortless.

Though sometimes, I admitted to myself, I did feel isolated. Emmett had Rosalie, Jasper had Alice, and when they were having "alone time" I was left to occupy myself. It wasn't as though they banished me from their presence; it was just that I didn't really want to witness two simultaneous making out sessions, especially when they involved my brother or sister. That was just awkward.

But usually, we were all our own group, constantly finding new ways to amuse ourselves. If Emmett was involved, the fun was bound to incorporate pranks of some sort. Alice and Rosalie were always up for shopping—groan. Jasper had great taste in movies and always seemed to find something that fit everyone's mood. Tonight I'd wanted to get outside and enjoy the evening air, so we'd traipsed out to the lawn with a soccer ball to relax. And in the midst of tonight's fun, playing around with Emmett and Jasper, I'd turned to land the ball over my shoulder… and saw _her_.

It barely registered that there were beings next to her, Mike Newton and Jessica Stanley, I think. The only thing that existed in that moment was her. Those wide, chocolate eyes ringed with dark lashes and her soft, full lips set in a heart-shaped face, glossy brown hair that danced around her shoulders in the breeze, her slight figure gently curving. She was the most beautiful person I had ever seen. When our eyes met, I watched a tinge of pink rush to her cheeks, coloring her face delicately. I couldn't move.

At that moment, Emmett's voice had shouted through my daze, and I broke away from our locked eyes to pass him the ball he was yelling for. I wasn't thinking clearly and something was wrong with my heartbeat. When I turned around again to make sure she wasn't a dream, she was walking back through the trees with the other two and I had an inexplicable urge to run after her and… and… I didn't even know what I would have done.

And now, lying awake in my room at midnight, just reliving those few seconds left my heart racing and the blood pounding through my body. I had never felt like this before, and honestly I wasn't sure if it was healthy. In fact, thinking about it logically, it probably wasn't healthy. I was being deprived of sleep over a girl I didn't even know. _Get a hold of yourself, Edward, _I admonished, _What if she's just as shallow and stuck up as every other girl at this rich kids school? Get a grip, man! _I grimaced, Lauren Mallory's face appearing in my head, the ultimate example of snobbishness.

With that thought, I made up my mind. If I saw her again tomorrow, I would give her a chance and see what she was made of. If she was just like all the other girls who strutted through the halls and stuck their noses up to everyone else, then I would find some way to get myself out of this ridiculous mess. And it wouldn't count if she was only friendly to me, either. For some reason I always had more than my share of female attention thrown at me, a fact that Emmett and the others wouldn't cease to tease me about. Truth be told, I could care less if my smile could bring a cheerleading squad to its knees, as Emmett liked to joke. It was downright annoying, if all my looks got me were one-dimensional girls.

Yet something about her eyes… they had looked deeper than I was used to seeing. Maybe there was more behind them than the latest celebrity gossip and following the popular crowd. _This is dangerous, Edward. Don't let yourself go too deep, or it will just hurt worse to pull away when you find out she's exactly the same. _Even that thought worried me a little. How could I already be attached to someone I hadn't met yet, to a point that I could feel pain anticipating separation? _This is bad._

Pushing that thought from my head, I remembered the deal I had made with myself. I would give her an opportunity to prove what she was like and then I could go from there. I felt more settled after making my decision and my eyes began to close, but not without a final image of a blushing angel flitting through my mind.


	2. Not Strong Enough

_**Disclaimer: I checked in the mirror this morning, and nope... I'm still not Stephenie Meyer!**_

* * *

_Beep! Beeep! Beeeeep! Beeeeeeeep!_

I awoke to the annoying alarm clock's insistent call to action. My arm flung toward the clock and I hit the off button. I was really going to have to find a good radio station to set it on soon. Rolling out of my bed, I tripped on the sheets and stumbled against the chair on my way to the door. Always an issue, my coordination was certainly not at its best in the morning.

When I peeked through the doorway, I was glad to find that Jessica and Lauren were already up. The bathroom mirror was all fogged up and I could hear blow dryers in their rooms. Going into the bathroom and locking the door, I turned on the shower and stepped into the hot water. Letting its warmth wash away all the first day of school anxiety, I took my time shampooing and scrubbing. Eventually, I got out and walked back to my room wrapped in my towel.

Not knowing exactly what was in vogue here, I searched through the clothes in my closet for the perfect outfit. Not that there were many clothes to search through to begin with. My fashion sense was minimal and I hated shopping, so I ended up settling on a pair of jeans and a fitted, dark blue, short sleeve top.

"Bella," Jessica's voice called from my doorway. "Do you want to come down to breakfast with us?"

I glance quickly at my clock and realized that there were only ten minutes left until breakfast would stop being served and fifteen minutes until class started. "Yeah… thirty seconds and I'll be right out!" I answered. There was no time to blow my hair dry straight, so I towel-dried it, scrunching it into loose waves. Makeup wasn't even an option in the rush I was in, but I didn't really wear any most of the time anyways so it was okay. Slipping into a pair of black flats, I grabbed my schedule from my desk, stuffed it into my bag, and dashed out the door to join Lauren and Jessica.

As we walked out of our hall and towards the main building, I saw my clothes wouldn't stick out too badly, though they weren't the designer brands that many people wore. Entering the dining hall, Lauren led the way through the meal line and I found a cup of yogurt and a Pop-Tart that would work for breakfast. We walked through the tables in the main room and Lauren and Jessica headed straight for a group of girls sitting at a center table. There were squeals and shrieks of delight from all of them as they excitedly greeted each other after a long summer apart. I stood back awkwardly until Lauren remembered I was there.

"This is Bella Swan, Jess's and my roommate. She just got here from Phoenix." Lauren introduced me.

"Hi," I said uncertainly. I was definitely the only one at this table without makeup and glancing around at their clothes, I saw conspicuous brand labels.

"And Bella, these are the coolest girls in school. Once you're friends with us, you won't need anyone else." She smirked contemptuously at a few of the "Less-Desirables" at the other tables sitting around us and her friends snickered. They all introduced themselves to me, but I couldn't quite remember who was who.

Conversations swirled around me as I bit into my Pop-Tart, trying to figure out if the girl with the highlighted blonde hair was Chelsea, or if she was the one with the perfectly swept up dark curls who I was sure had a nose job… or was that Madeline? Giving up for the moment, I let my eyes sweep the rest of the room, not wanting to admit to myself who I was looking for. Sighing when I didn't spot his unusual bronze colored hair among the students at breakfast, I was startled to hear a friendly voice behind me.

"Hey, Bella!"

I jumped and knocked over my yogurt container, which thankfully wasn't opened yet. "Um, hi Mike," I said as he plopped into the seat next to mine. I was glad for a familiar face in my new surroundings, but not nearly as excited as Jessica's face across from me upon seeing the visitor to our table.

"Are you all ready to start class?" he wanted to know. "You look great!"

I privately grimaced at the obvious compliment and focused on his first question. "No, not quite," I joked, "I think I'll start tomorrow. That won't be a big deal, right?"

He looked confused as he tried to decide between comforting my supposed anxiety and breaking the hard truth to me that, in fact, I _had _to start school today with everyone else. I rolled my eyes inwardly… okay, so sarcasm wasn't going to fly here.

"Just kidding. I'm ready," I assured him, and his face cleared.

At that moment, Jessica jumped into the conversation. "Good morning, Mike," she gushed. "What class do you have first?"

"History with Mr. Ratzlevy," he answered.

Her face fell slightly and she sighed, "Oh. I've got Calculus. Well, maybe I'll see you in other classes." She smiled brightly at him.

I looked up at the clock and realized that we only had a few minutes before school was supposed to start. "Jess," I interrupted, "we both have the same first hour. Maybe we should start heading up there?" She looked a little frustrated at ending her conversation with Mike, but we both got up to dump our trash and get to class.

As we moved with the stream of students walking up the stairs to the upper two levels of the building, she whispered excitedly to me, "So what do you think? Mike's been super friendly last night and now this morning. Lauren says that means he likes me!"

I decided to answer as diplomatically as possible: "Yeah, he's really been hanging you around a lot…" _Probably because I'm tagging along with you…_ "That has to mean something," I finished hopefully. Maybe Mike would eventually catch on that she was into him.

I was relieved when we entered the classroom doorway and had to pause the awkward conversation. We found seats together toward the edge of the room. As students walked in, the desks started to fill around me and soon most of their occupants, many of whom were male, were turned in their chairs talking to me.

"Hi, I'm Eric. What's your name?"

"Haven't seen you here before…"

"So where are you from, Bella?"

"Do you know your way around yet? I could walk you to your next class if you want…"

All the attention left me feeling astonished and uncomfortable. Jessica, on the other hand, was in her element. She chatted with the guys flirtatiously, answering their questions for me from what I had told her and Lauren last night. Thankfully, the bell rang and everyone turned back around in their desks to start class. I was grateful that Jessica had been able to field all the questions and attention this time, but I didn't have every class with her. I would have to handle it on my own next time. If there was a next time. I couldn't figure out why I was attracting this much notice. It had certainly not been this way in Phoenix. There, my classmates recognized me for what I was: a totally normal looking and painfully clumsy girl. I'd never had a boyfriend, or even anyone remotely interested, which was fine, because none of them had ever interested me in that way. Before I could stop it, my mind was back on the lawn last night, staring into the devastatingly beautiful face that had dominated my dreams.

I forced myself to listen to what the teacher at the front of the room was telling us about her syllabus for the year. It was only going to be harder to watch Edward and Lauren together if I kept allowing myself to slip into daydreams about him now. Shooting a glance around the room, I saw that he wasn't in this class. The super ripped guy with dark curly hair who had been playing soccer with him last night was sitting slouched in his desk in the back of the room, though. He caught my eyes on him, and rolled his own with boredom at the lecturing. I couldn't help but grin. He pretended like he was slitting his wrists with his pencil and then winked at me playfully. I had to turn around in my seat to keep from giggling out loud; he was hilarious. Maybe we would be friends…

The minutes ticked by and finally the bell rang, signaling the class was over. I filed out the door into the hallway with everyone else and started weaving through bodies to get to my British Literature class. People were talking and laughing, but I needed to focus on not tripping on the feet moving around me and remembering where the room was.

With relief, I recognized the number on the door and went in. I realized that I was one of the first people in the room and felt like a nerd. Blushing slightly, I picked a desk in the back corner and set my bag down on the floor. I was just pulling out a pencil to take notes on whatever this teacher was going to lecture us, when I heard a low voice as smooth as velvet right next to me. "Hi."

My head snapped up and I thought I was dreaming again when, just inches from my face, his topaz eyes stared into mine. He was sitting in the only desk next to me. I heard a small clatter, and realized that my hand was now empty. Thoroughly mortified, I glanced down at the floor and saw the pencil I had just dropped. Our hands reached for it at the same time, but his hard, muscled arm was quicker than mine. My face had turned crimson and burned even warmer when our fingers touched slightly. _Bella, you idiot! Say something! _"Uh, t-thanks," I managed to stutter.

From such close proximity, his perfection was overwhelming. I could see in exquisite detail every aspect of his face, the broad, defined shoulders filling out his shirt, the contours of his chest, everything as flawless as if he was a sculptor's masterpiece. He gave a little crooked smile at my faulty articulation and my knees felt weak. I was glad I was already sitting down.

"Would you mind if I joined you way back here in the nosebleed section?" he asked.

"No, not at all. Hope you brought binoculars," I kidded, before realizing I probably sounded stupid. Amusement flashed in his eyes as my blush returned in full force.

"I don't believe we've met. I'm Edward Cullen," he said in a tone that kick started my heart into high gear. He held his hand out to me, and I stared at it like an idiot until I found my voice.

"I'm… Bella Swan," I heard myself say as I reached for his offered hand.

"How are you enjoying Thomas Academy and its accompanying amenities so far, Miss Swan?" he asked, in a teasingly professional tone that made me laugh.

"My stay has been lovely, thus far, I assure you," I played along with the mock interview. "My roommates have been quite hospitable, and Lauren told me that—" I stopped talking suddenly. Lauren's name brought reality crashing down on me and I fought for control of my emotions. I was dangerously close to infatuation, actually right on the edge, and if I didn't do something now, I was going to make a fool of myself falling for Edward. In fact, I was far too aware that our hands were still joined.

It took every ounce of self-discipline I had, but I forced the smile off my face, released his hand, and said coldly, "If you'll excuse me now, I need to prepare for class." Just before I turned abruptly to the front of the room and away from him, I thought I saw his eyes widen in confusion then quickly harden. He turned his own body away from me and made no attempt to regain my attention.

Refusing to let myself dwell on our short, but ever so pleasant exchange, the way his little grin had made my bones melt, and the fact that his presence was only a few feet away was hard. Shoot, this whole thing was going to be hard. Now I knew that not only was Edward Cullen inhumanly physically attractive, but he had personality. _Crap_. And I would have to suffer every single time he came over to hang out with Lauren… what if I walked in on them kissing? My stomach turned at the thought.

No, as rude as I knew I looked, I couldn't even pretend to try and be friends with him. I wasn't strong enough for that. I was going to have to put as much distance between us as possible, before I gave myself away and Edward thought I was a creep and Lauren got upset. It hurt to know that I was acting like a jerk, ignoring him like this, but maybe if he thought I was rude enough, he would pay no attention to me too and I wouldn't have to keep turning away his friendly overtures.

I managed to keep my eyes trained to the front of the room for the remainder of class, but didn't hear a word. All of my nerves were ultrasensitive to the existence of the person next to me. Just before the bell was going to ring announcing time to switch classes, I surriptuously peeked at Edward. His jaw was clenched tightly and his hands gripped the edge of his desk, the tendons standing out under his skin. My heart sank, and I knew I had accomplished my goal. He officially thought I was a jerk and hated me. _Way to go, Bella. _I sarcastically cheered for myself.

After what felt like an eternity, the bell rang, and Edward was out of his seat and moving toward the door in an instant. Watching his fluid departure, I pushed away a twinge of despair and picked up my bag. I wished I was strong enough to attempt friendship with him, but these emotions were way too strong for that. I knew I couldn't keep them in check and I wasn't about to mess around with his and Lauren's relationship. My heart was already cracked after Charlie's death. I didn't need to break it completely and unnecessarily over a guy who was already taken.

My aforementioned cracked heart now heavy, I trudged to World History. My spirit was so low I didn't even notice whom I was sitting by until a bright, "Hi!" interrupted my depressed thoughts. I lifted my eyes and directly in front of me, beaming like the sun itself, was the tiny pixie I'd seen on the lawn last night. To her left was the gorgeous blonde, and they were both turned in their seats smiling.

"I'm Alice, and this is Rosalie," the pixie said enthusiastically. It was impossible not to feel a little better by her contagious energy and I smiled back.

"I'm Bella," I told them.

"What a beautiful name!" Rosalie said. "I like it."

"Thanks," I responded. "My full name is actually Isabella, but hearing that makes me feel like the Queen of Spain or something."

"Your highness," said Alice, pretending to bow, and I made a face before all of us started to laugh. "You know," Alice continued, "I just met you, but I have a feeling that we're going to be really good friends."

"I'd like that," I replied, grinning happily before remembering that perhaps this friendship could get complicated if these two hung out with Edward very often, as I had seen last night. But I could use all the friends I could get right now, and if I could work around the Edward issue, Alice and Rosalie looked like they would be a lot of fun.

"Good morning, class," we heard from the front of the room, "I'm Mr. Ratzlevy and today we embark on an exciting exploration of World History from 1500 to 1850." Rosalie rolled her eyes and she and Alice faced forward. "As you know, history is made by people, just like you and me, so to begin our year together, please form groups of three. I have a little activity that will help you get to know a couple other people in this class, people who, just like you, have a chance to write the history of our times!"

Though we were all silently giggling at Mr. Ratzlevy's zeal for his subject, Rosalie, Alice, and I immediately scooted closer together into a group. He passed out papers full of questions that we were supposed to ask the other members of our group, so we got started at the top. We were having so much fun that we didn't realize the period was over until the bell rang. I studied my paper and saw that we didn't even have half the questions answered; we'd been talking about so many other things.

"Why don't you come over to our room after dinner?" Alice asked. "We could finish it tonight, if you want."

"Sounds great!" I answered, and then caught myself. "Um, is there going to be anybody else there?"

"Nope, just us," said Rosalie. "We don't have a third roommate." Though it wasn't exactly what I'd meant by my question, I was reassured. Hopefully their guy friends including Edward wouldn't stop by.

With the promise of continued fun later in the evening, I headed for Spanish with a lighter step. Walking into the room, I saw Jessica waving at me from the middle row, motioning me over to the seat next to her. I sat down beside her and she asked how my classes had been so far. I was going to tell her about making friends with Alice and Rosalie when Mike took the desk in front of me. She was immediately distracted and leaned over to flirt with him.

"Hola, muchacho!" She pronounced the Spanish words with a thick Western accent. "Eres muy guano hoy…" she said, winking.

I had to hide an incredulous snicker. I think she meant "guapo," which means "handsome." Instead, Jessica had just told him: "You are very bat poop today." Fortunately, Mike didn't get it and laughed good-naturedly.

"Hey Jess, hey Bella! How are things going?" He looked at me, obviously pleased to have a class with me.

"Pretty good, nothing really awful has happened yet," I lied, remembering my personal hell of a Literature class. "I mean, I haven't tripped down the stairs or stabbed anyone with a pencil or anything."

Mike grinned at me and said, "Hey, you wouldn't mind if I sat with you guys at lunch today, would you?"

Jessica jumped in quickly with a, "No, that would be great!" and a brilliant smile. Mike looked happy about that and I was thankful the "profesora" began class at that time.

Finally, the lunch bell rang and the three of us trooped down the stairs with the rest of the school toward the dining hall. We got our food and carried it to the same table I'd been at this morning, where Lauren and her other friends were waiting. I sat next to Lauren and Jess and Mike sat across from us. Chelsea, Madeline and the others all seemed pleased to see that Mike was with us, and I guessed that they must know about Jessica's crush. They grew more pleased as a few other guys came to join us, some of whose faces were vaguely familiar from the sessions of too-friendly questioning I had undergone before my classes had started. They all leaned over to talk to me as we ate and I barely knew what to say to everyone. Thankfully, each of Lauren's friends quickly engaged the guys in conversation and I could focus on my lunch in relative peace.

That peace was soon disturbed when Edward Cullen, along with Alice, Rosalie, and the other two hot guys came into my view. They sat at an empty table together, and I noticed Lauren watching Edward with a coy smile. He gave a quick glance her direction, but turned back to his friends swiftly. She sighed and the sound seemed frustrated to me. _Okay, I am officially confused_. _Maybe they just had a fight? Why aren't they sitting together? I guess they like to keep their relationship low profile._

I checked in his direction a few moments later and saw his eyes looking Lauren's way with what seemed to be a wistful expression in them. No, it was more than wistful… regretful desire? How fascinating… _Stop it, Bella! Don't let yourself get deeper into this!_ I went back to my lunch, but not without observing Lauren see the same thing I did and smile happily.

She stood up and walked over to Edward's table, perching in the empty seat beside him. I couldn't seem to stop my eyes from being drawn toward them and felt a bit ill when I saw her fingers tracing his forearm. _Apparently they made up. _Without another look, I excused myself from our table and dumped my tray. I had to get out of that room as fast as possible. I was such a rotten friend; why couldn't I just be happy for Lauren?

Lauren's POV

"Hey Edward," I purred, sitting next to the hottest guy in school.

Just like every other girl in the room, I was instantly alert the moment Edward Cullen walked into the dining hall. Unfortunately for every other girl in the room, they were not Lauren Mallory. And the glance that he had just given had been for Lauren Mallory- me.

Okay, so the first glance hadn't been much to brag about. He just looked in my direction and then away again. I wished he would just make up his mind and realize that of course he was in love with me. I mean, what guy wasn't? I was pretty much the hottest thing in the whole school… well, except for him, of course. And his brother Emmett… and his stupid girlfriend Rosalie. She made me sick how incredibly gorgeous she always looked. And guys seemed to like Alice Cullen too… but unfortunately for them and fortunately for me, she'd already snagged Jasper, Rosalie's brother who was also undeniably good looking.

I pushed those annoying thoughts from my head. So, except for the other people sitting at his table, I was the hottest thing at Thomas Academy and it shocked me that he hadn't figured it out that we would make the perfect couple. All of my friends knew it and Jess assured me that he would see the light soon. Soon wasn't soon enough for me; I had wanted Edward Cullen from the moment I first laid eyes on him. However, he had been infuriatingly obtuse to our obvious destiny and had never even given me a second look. Until a few moments ago.

The look in his eyes that I had seen from across the room was enough motivation to bring me over to his table. I had been able to read those sexy golden eyes clearly: "I want you. Why can't I have you?" Well, I was here now and he could have me anytime he wanted.

I felt the eyes of the whole academy on me as I sashayed to his side. The moment that everyone knew had to come at some time had finally arrived. I gazed into his face and touched the amazing muscles in his arm, ready to hear the pouring out of long overdue adoration for my perfection. I would make him grovel a bit before I agreed to be his girlfriend, and then we would live in bliss for the rest of our lives.

Instead, he just looked irritated and… disgusted? He took his arm out of my embrace and asked—very rudely, "What do you want Lauren?" I was floored. This was not what was supposed to be happening.

I pulled back slightly, trying to find my composure. "Edward," I tried to keep the seductive purr that put men on their knees in my voice, "I saw you staring at me from across the dining hall and I thought I'd come see what was on your mind. It looked like you had something you wanted to say to me?" I hinted at the role that he was supposed to be playing.

Out of nowhere, a slight flush colored his cheeks and neck and I was encouraged. But when I saw his eyes glance back to where I had been sitting before and not to my beautiful face in front of him, I got frustrated. "I'm right here, Edward!"

"I see that," he said frostily. "As I have nothing to say to you, I would suggest you get back to your table." _What?! This is unacceptable. _Since he was obviously not prepared to share his undying love for me now, I would just have to go and leave him to regret his missed opportunity.

Keeping my shoulders back and my head high, I returned to my table, and noticed that Bella was gone. She had been right next to me and I wondered where she had… Then it hit me. What if…? No. It couldn't be. It was a ridiculous thought, but what if Edward had been staring with such a clear expression of longing for _Bella_? Impossible, but I would have to make sure that such an outlandish pairing never happened. Edward Cullen was mine, and no one messes with what is Lauren Mallory's.

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**Thanks for checking out the story so far... if you don't like it, sorry, don't read it. If you do like it, review! It's so encouraging...**


	3. Connecting the Dots

**Thanks so much for the reviews, guys... I get all excited when I see a new one, and that excitement means-- more story faster! You guys are great... thanks for reading!**

**Disclaimer #1: If I was Stephenie Meyer, I wouldn't be posting stuff on Fanfiction. **

**Disclaimer #2: If there are any Jake Black fans reading this, I'm going to apologize now. I don't hate him, I promise. But the role I stuck him in in this story is pretty hate-able, so sorry if you now hate me!**

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After my pathetic dash from the dining hall, I went where every loser who runs away from humiliation and weakness goes: the bathroom. Staring at my plain-jane reflection in the mirror didn't exactly improve my mood when I remembered Lauren and Edward sitting together at his table. It would make things so much easier if I could just accept the fact that he wasn't mine and never would be.

I hid out in there for the rest of lunch until I could hear students start moving outside in the hallway. Shouldering my school bag, I pushed the door open as though I had just made a quick pit stop and melted into the crowd of people getting to fifth period. A quick reference to my schedule told me that I had Biology with Mr. Banner next. As long as we weren't dissecting frogs on our first day, I would be fine. Blood made me faint and nauseous.

Arriving at the classroom door, I saw Lauren go into the room ahead of me. Great. I would have to face her everyday after watching her and Edward at lunch. I started to sigh, resigning myself to that fact, when suddenly my lungs froze. Oh no. No. No no no no. This couldn't be happening. _He_ was in this class too, and _she_ was moving to sit at his lab table. My day just got a million times worse.

I glued my eyes to an empty table on the opposite side of the room and walked quickly to it. Sinking into my seat, I couldn't help a tiny glance their direction. Shoot, they were looking at me. Lauren's expression was confusing, like she was saying, _Ha, look who I get to sit with and you don't._ I panicked for a second; did she know about my stupid obsession? She couldn't. I had done nothing but ignore him when she was around. Edward's expression was unreadable, mostly because he turned his head immediately when he saw me looking at him.

To avoid further embarrassment at getting caught staring at the couple, I started doodling on my notebook. A few rows of diamonds had appeared on my paper before I heard the seat next to me pull out. Curious to see who wanted to sit with the new girl, I looked up into pair of dark, roguish eyes and a gleaming smile. "Hey Good Lookin', what's going on? I'm Jake Black."

This guy was handsome, I would admit that, with his shaggy black hair falling into his face, his smooth russet colored skin, and a body banded with muscle. Confidence seemed to seep off him so strongly I could almost taste it, he was so sure of himself. That impression was confirmed right away.

"Uh, hey. I'm Bella Swan. Nice to meet you," I said cordially.

"That's right, it's nice to meet me," Jake returned, grinning impishly. "So, what's been the best part about Thomas Academy so far? I mean, before you met me?"

I couldn't contain a little laugh at his absurd ego. Surely it was all for show. Then two girls in low cut tops and tiny skirts took the table in front of us and immediately turned around to talk to Jake. One leaned over the back of her chair, pushing up her bust conspicuously. The other crossed her legs and teased the hem of her skirt.

"Hey Jake, what's up?" one girl asked, batting her eyelashes at him.

"I'm _so _glad we have this class together," purred the other one.

"I'll probably need a lot of help with my homework," said the first one suggestively, making me think that not very much homework would get done if they did get together to "study."

Jake winked at both of them and said, "Sure, sounds good to me. Just call me whenever you want to 'do homework.'" He emphasized the last two words and the girls giggled knowingly. "We can all help each other. You've got my number, right?"

"Of course we do! It's saved under 'Jake-the-Hottie' in my phone," she said.

"Sweet. Well, you know it's a constant study party in my room so just come by whenever," he told them.

"We'll definitely be there," they promised and turned around with a parting look that I guessed was supposed to be alluring. It just made me want to vomit, but I could understand his assurance now. Other girls certainly contributed to his self-image.

"So back to you, Miss Swan," he said, turning his charm on me. "Do you think you'll be in need of any study parties this year? I certainly hope so." I felt his eyes raking me up and down and my voice wobbled a little.

"Umm, no, I don't think so. I usually do fine by myself."

"I'm disappointed," he pretended to pout. "But don't worry, I'll find some way to spend time with you." I laughed uneasily, thinking that if spending time with him was going to be anything like his "study parties," I probably should avoid that.

Just in time to save me from more uncomfortable conversation with the player next to me, Mr. Banner started class. I focused up front and listened as he explained his expectations and class objectives. When he told us we were going to be starting the year with a project, the whole class groaned. "Oh come on, kids! It's a flora taxonomy project so it's just a bucket of fun!" That earned him another unanimous groan. "You'll be working with the person you are sitting with today and it's due in two weeks. Once we finish that project, we will start doing lab exercises. The person you sit by on Monday two weeks from now will be your partner for the rest of the year. Questions?"

A nerd in the front row raised his hand and wanted to know what kind of classifications we would be doing. Mr. Banner began to explain the project more thoroughly, telling us that we would be given a list of species to gather within the next two weeks and we would have to identify each one and display them all clearly and creatively. It didn't sound too bad, except that I had absolutely no knowledge of plant classification.

"Where are we going to find all this stuff?" Jake wanted to know.

"Thank you for raising your hand, Jacob," Mr. Banner said sarcastically. "Everything on the list should be available around the Academy's grounds, including the trees down to the lakefront."

Jake snaked his arm around the back of my chair and leaned in. "We've got this covered," he told me in a low voice. "I know those woods like the back of my hand. No worries." His flirtatious smile appeared again, very close to me this time, and my cheeks started to heat up from his proximity. In that moment, my eyes inexplicably flashed to Edward.

To my surprise, he was glaring in my direction, his eyes dark with anger. I shrank back into my seat, and consequently into Jake's arm. He turned to see what had brought about my sudden desire to be near him and encountered Edward's glower. Jake just put his hand on my shoulder and Edward faced forward again without another look. I must have really offended him this morning to deserve such hatred. The hurt sliced deep and I shrugged out of Jake's hold to put my face in my hands. _Just give it up, Bella._

"Cullen's a jerk; don't worry about it, Bella," Jake reassured me. "He thinks he's so great because he's captain of the soccer team, but really he's just a loser and he knows it." His voice sounded slightly bitter and I struggled to accept what he told me. Somehow it didn't seem to fit my mental image of Edward, but what did I know? I'd only been here for a day.

Class was dismissed at the bell and just before I got up to leave, Jake leaned over and whispered in my ear, "I'll see you in Bio tomorrow, beautiful. Remember, if you need a study party, come on over." He winked and walked off, leaving me with my face burning. He was so forward, but I'd never be added to his list of conquests. I was definitely not that kind of girl.

Sliding out of my seat, I mentally groaned when I remembered what class I had next. Gym, where I could publicly broadcast my crippling lack of coordination to the world. Hurray.

The gym was separate from the main building, so I descended the steps and left out the back door, heading across the courtyard towards the huge gymnasium. Following the line of other students walking through the door, I took a seat on the bleachers with the rest of the class. I checked to see if I knew anyone in sixth period Gym, but there were no familiar faces—oh wait. Mike came through the door at that moment and when he saw me, his face lit up.

Knowing he would probably come to sit with me, I scooted over to give him more room, accidentally nudging the person to my left. Apologizing, I turned to see a girl's sweet face next to me. "I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to bump you," I said.

"It's okay," she told me, her dark hair falling into her large brown eyes. "I'm Angela."

"I'm Bella," I said, and she smiled shyly. Obviously neither of us was big talkers, but that was alright. Her quiet friendliness was welcome.

Mike slid into the space on my right and began telling me how great gym class was going to be. Since we were upper classmen, we were allowed to do some of the more advanced units, like archery and diving. _Oh joy, _I thought, picturing myself shooting someone in the foot with an arrow.

Calling the class to order, our gym teacher started to run through the different units we would cover this term, explain the locker room rules, and pass out our gym uniforms. They were pretty basic: white t-shirt and dark blue athletic shorts. Fortunately for me, since it was our first day of class we weren't going to be actually participating in any activity.

Once gym was over, my schedule was finished and I walked through the bright sunshine back to Medsen Hall and my room. Tossing my bag next to my desk, I kicked off my shoes and lay back on the bed. It felt good to relax; meeting so many new people had sapped some of my energy.

After a few minutes of chilling, I sat back up and took out my homework. It was only the first day of school, and I already had a page of Calc problems, Spanish vocabulary to memorize, and the first few chapters of _Pride and Prejudice_ to read for Brit Lit. Of course, that last assignment wouldn't take long at all. Jane Austen was one of my favorite authors, and I had read the story of Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy many times. I would just do a quick review before going to class tomorrow.

Settling into my desk, I set to work on my Calculus. Math had never been my strong point and it took a while to get through the assignment. I hadn't realized exactly how long it had taken until I heard a tap on the door and Jessica peeked in. "Ready for dinner, Bella? Lauren and I were about to leave."

"Coming!" I said, and put down my Spanish vocab flashcards. The three of us walked down to the dining hall for dinner and sat at our usual table. Not surprisingly, Mike soon came to join us, and even less surprisingly, Jessica was thrilled.

Throughout the meal, I purposefully kept my eyes on my own table, not allowing them to roam the room. Even without looking, I knew Edward was sitting where he had earlier today at lunch with the rest of his beautiful friends. His presence alone drew my awareness. Something was seriously wrong with me; I felt like I was trying to stop a heat-seeking missile from its target.

I tried to converse with Mike and the others, but I couldn't quite put my heart into it. My distraction was crippling my concentration. Eventually the ordeal was over and I followed the rest of the group to clear our trays and dump our trash. I hoped that every meal wouldn't be this difficult, that soon I would be as immune to Edward Cullen as I was to any other person.

My mood improved when I remembered that I was supposed to meet up with Alice and Rosalie after dinner. Our conversation in World History had been a high point in my day and I was eager to continue. I felt a little silly when I realized that I didn't know exactly when I should come, but I figured I'd give them another half hour and head over a little after six.

Once we reached our room, Lauren and Jessica went straight for the shelves of DVDs. "We never do homework our first night back at school," Lauren informed me.

"None of that homework junk to start off the year," Jessica agreed. "A bunch of us girls get together and watch 'Gossip Girl' and paint our toes and catch up on all the juicy gossip about what happened to whom this summer."

"There's always something good," said Lauren. "Last year, we totally got filled in on how that nasty Carly got knocked up when she went to visit her mom in Long Beach."

Jessica snickered. "I know, I'm so glad she doesn't go here anymore."

They remembered a few other scandals from last year and I was starting to get uncomfortable. I mean, I didn't even know these people, but surely they didn't want their private lives picked apart behind their backs. I know I wouldn't.

I shifted from foot to foot, wondering if I was even part of this conversation anymore. Jessica's attention came back to me and she smiled broadly.

"You're welcome to be a part of the fun, if you want," she invited. Lauren didn't look quite as excited about the invitation, but it didn't matter.

"I already have plans tonight, but thanks for asking," I told them.

"Oh?" Lauren asked quickly. "What do you have going on?" Her tone was carefully indifferent, but I thought I could hear a note of suspicion in it.

"Just a group assignment for World History," I said, and her expression smoothed out.

"Well then, if you're sure you'd rather do homework than have fun…" she said dismissively.

"Yeah, I'll feel better if I finish it," I said, feeling kind of lame. Then I remembered that I was going to see if they could help me with some missing information. "Do you know where Alice and Rosalie's room is?" Realizing I didn't know their last names, I hoped there wasn't more than one Alice and Rosalie in the school. But certainly Lauren would know who I was talking about since she was with their friend Edward.

Apparently she did, though I didn't expect her reaction. Her eyes narrowed and she looked a little on edge. "What would you want to go to their room for?" she asked, her voice tight.

"They're the ones I'm doing the assignment with," I said, surprised. "We were in a group together in class and we need to finish it before tomorrow."

"I see," Lauren's face became pleasant again. "Well, I'm not entirely sure, but I think they're apartment is in the other hallway, down at the end."

"Okay, thanks," I replied, still slightly confused. "I guess I'll let you guys get started on your fun, then."

I snatched the paper for History from my desk and walked out the door, passing a few of Lauren and Jessica's friends on their way in. They were giggling and carrying nail polish and a ton of manicure equipment. It looked absolutely frightening and I lost no time in scooting down the hall.

Wandering to the other side of the building, I made my way to the end of the hallway where Lauren had said Alice and Rosalie lived. I shouldn't have worried about finding the right door, because the whiteboard on the apartment at the end of the corridor read, "Come On In Bella!" in hot pink dry-erase marker. Biting back a smile at their enthusiasm, I pushed the door open and felt my eyes widen at their apartment.

The common room was decorated to the hilt, everything color coordinated and chic. A huge entertainment center, the center of which was a flat screen plasma TV, dominated the far wall, opposite of which was a large couch and loveseat. The couch cushions matched the lamps on the end tables and pink, black, and silver strands of beads hung draped against the walls. It was all so cute and chic, I was floored.

Alice burst out of one of the rooms to the right, exclaiming, "She's here, Rose! Get out here!" Alice grabbed my hand and pulled me into the apartment. "Let me give you a tour!" she squealed excitedly.

"Alice, there's nothing to show," Rosalie's voice floated out of the other door on the right. She emerged from her room with an apologetic smile at our friend's eagerness. "I'm sure her rooms look exactly like ours."

"I just want her to feel welcome here," Alice explained, making me feel warm inside. She was still holding onto my hand and began to drag me towards her room.

"This is so amazing!" I said.

"Thanks," she replied, pleased. "It was really fun picking out what I wanted."

The décor was lovely, with its tasteful mix of hot pink and light pink accented with black. Everything from the curtains on the windows to her comforter to the bedside lamp fit the color scheme. Her closet door was slightly ajar and I gasped unthinkingly at the amount of clothes I saw stuffed inside.

"Oh I know, I was shocked too when I saw how tiny our closet space is! How am I supposed to fit a fraction of my wardrobe into _that?_" She gestured at the closet, which had proved to be more than adequate for my clothes. Sighing dramatically, her brow furrowed with concern when she told me seriously, "I don't know what I'm going to do when I go shopping next."

"It looks like you have plenty of clothes already," I said, surprised. "Why would you need to go shopping?" For me, shopping was a stressful ordeal that was usually unnecessary, but Alice looked at me like my nose had turned green.

"Bella." She spoke slowly, as though to a child. "Shopping is joy. You will definitely be coming to experience the joy that is shopping with me. Soon." When I just looked back at her doubtfully, she sighed and said, "you'll see," then dragged me off to Rosalie's room.

Compared to Alice's girly room, Rosalie's was dramatic and elegant. Black and silver dominated her color scheme, from the zebra striped throw pillows on the silver comforter to the black silk lampshade. It was gorgeous and completely fit her.

When we came out of Rosalie's room to the common room, I saw that Rosalie had set up chips and dip on the coffee table and was pulling sodas out of the fridge. "Do you like Coke, Bella?" she asked.

"Yeah, that would be great," I answered. "You really don't have to do this, though."

"And why not?" Alice exclaimed, indignant. "It's hardly a party without snacks and drinks!"

"But I thought we were just going to finish our History assignment… thanks," I said as Rosalie handed me a can of Coke.

"Well, of course we'll finish the assignment," said Rosalie, "but we're also celebrating our first day of being friends, so it's a party too."

I couldn't help but return their wide smiles at that; they were so sweet and I knew that we really would be great friends. We all settled into the couch, grabbed a bowl of chips, and pulled out the History paper.

"So, Bella," Alice said, crunching on a chip, "Do you have a boyfriend?"

Blushing immediately, I looked down at the page. "Is that question on here?"

"No. I just wanted to know!" she laughed mischievously.

"Very sneaky," I said as I laughed along with her. "I'm so sorry, though, you won't get any dirt on me. I've never dated anyone."

They both looked at me in disbelief. "No one, ever?" Rosalie wanted to know. "I mean, you're beautiful!" Sure, so says the swimsuit model in front of me. She could afford to be generous.

"Nope. I never wanted to before," I told them, and started to blush again when I remembered that their friend Edward had probably been in this very room, maybe even sat where I was sitting on the couch. _Before Edward, _I corrected myself mentally.

Before they could ask about my telltale blush, I turned the question around. "What about you two? Do you have anyone who can fight off your mobs of admirers?" When they both got silly smiles on their faces, I knew the answer.

"Emmett could take on anyone," Rosalie sighed dreamily. "He's so hot, plus he's a great kisser…"

"Eww, Rose!" Alice made a face. "Could you please not talk about my brother like that? It's just weird."

"Look who's talking," Rosalie grinned. "It's not like I love to hear about every little thing Jasper does so perfectly all the time!"

"Well, we all know Jasper's a better kisser anyways..."

"Um, no way. Not like I'd know, of course..."

My face must have showed my confusion, because Rose turned to explain.

"I'm dating Emmett Cullen, Alice's brother, and she's dating Jasper Hale, my brother, so as you can see, there's not many secrets when we're all so close!"

"Aww, that's cute that you guys are all togeth—" my voice cracked when my mind fully processed what she'd said. "Wait, you're Alice _Cullen_?" I asked incredulously. _Did that mean that…_

"I certainly am," she said perkily, missing my mental scrambling. "Me, and Emmett, and Edward are the proud Cullens of Thomas Academy. Oh, I didn't say anything about Edward, did I? I'm not being a very good sister." She began to notice my astonished expression and she grinned playfully. "Do those bright red cheeks mean that you've met my brother?"

My hands flew up to my face automatically, and sure enough, I was blushing again. Stupid blood vessels had to give me away… "Um, yeah, I met him. We didn't exactly hit it off, though." The understatement of the year.

"Too bad," Alice pouted. "I think you guys would be adorable together!"

I was about to ask where Lauren fit into that picture when Rosalie interrupted, saying, "Before Alice goes overboard matchmaking, maybe we should start asking some of the actual questions on this paper."

Glad for the excuse to avoid further awkward conversation that might lead to them guessing my obsession with Alice's gorgeous brother, I took her suggestion. "Did you have any pets as a kid?" This led to a hilarious story about the time Alice had forced Emmett to take her teacup Yorkie to the groomer's, and all the people in the shop had thought it was his dog. I could just imagine the huge Emmett with a tiny ball of fluff in Patricia's Pup Primping Palace. We all laughed until we had tears rolling down our cheeks.

By the time we had all the questions answered, the chips were gone, our stomachs hurt from laughing so hard, and we were fast friends. I wasn't sure how that would work when Edward was around, but I felt so at home with Alice and Rosalie that I knew things would be okay somehow.

* * *

Jake's POV

My muscles strained as I raised the heavy bar one more time before replacing it on the bench press. I could feel the sweat rolling down my arms and back as I sat up. I loved knowing that with every lift of those barbells, I got stronger. It just felt good. And sometimes I needed a release, something other than girls all the time.

Girls were great and all, but I could only fake an interest in their more intangible aspects for so long. All I really wanted was their bodies, and I was pretty sure that they knew that deep down inside. But I could work my charm—and my exceptional good looks—on any girl I wanted, so there was hardly ever a dull moment. Usually I got tired of them before they got tired of me.

Everyone knew my reputation around here. Use them and lose them, that was me. I'd go as far as she'd let me, and farther if I wanted to. The new girls who had no idea about my status as the school playboy were especially fun to seduce. They'd come in all innocent and pretty soon their reputations would be just as sullied as mine.

I remembered Sarah from last year: she was a freshman, she was naïve, and she was cute, a perfect combination. I worked my magic and she fell hard, harder than she had ever dreamed she would. By the end of the first month of school, rumors were flying around the Academy that she was pregnant. I knew better; we'd used protection. I snorted in laughter, remembering her initial hesitance, but she'd believed me when I told her I loved her. She had no idea how many times I'd used that line on other girls.

No one knew Sarah, but everyone knew me, and soon the rumors were too much for her. She didn't come back after winter break, but it didn't matter too much to me. I'd moved on by then.

Remembering Sarah made me think of the new girl I'd sat by in Biology this afternoon. She was hot, better looking than any new girl I'd seen in a long time, and I wanted her. Bella, that was her name. Well, I had to admit she hadn't immediately fallen for my charms and that would make things a bit harder for me. A little pursuit now and then was invigorating, and I was eager to catch this prize. Getting paired up for that Bio project was a perfect opportunity.

My blood pounded a little faster through my veins as I remembered her soft hair touching my arm when she leaned back… then it came to me why she'd done that in the first place. Cullen.

He was really my only competition at Thomas. Well, he _would_ be if he ever went after a girl. Luckily for me, he'd never shown an interest in any of them, so that left the field wide open. Girls always went gaga for him when they first saw him, but usually calmed down a little when they saw he wasn't ever going to return the sentiment. Sure, he had a nice body and a pretty face. Sure, he was captain of the soccer team. Sure, he had money and a sweet car. Sure, he was polite and smart and a gentleman. It's not like all that made him perfect or anything. It made me sick, he didn't even have to try and they were falling all over him.

But that glare he'd shot at me when I put my arm around Bella during Bio had surprised me and left me a little defensive. I wanted this girl, and I wasn't about to let him jump in the game now and win her away. Thankfully, Bella had thought he was glaring at her, but I knew the truth. He didn't like my being close to her. But there was nothing he could do about it. I was going to take Bella whether he liked it or not. And with that, I went back to pumping iron.

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**Like I said earlier... sorry to Team Jacob members!**

**Review review review!! ... please. lol.**


	4. Tripping, Truces, and Torture

**Thanks so much to the few, the faithful, the fabulous reviewers! You make my day brighter... and my fingers type faster. )**

**Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer I am not, nor will ever be.**

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I left Alice and Rosalie's room with a smile and an open invitation to come over whenever I felt like it. Never outgoing, I wasn't one to drop by just to hang out, but I felt so comfortable with those two that I knew I would be back. The fact that Edward was Alice's brother certainly complicated things, though. Whatever twist of fate had done this to me had a warped sense of humor.

Opening my own apartment's door, I heard the sound of whispers and giggles and knew that the gossip party wasn't over yet. The smell of nail polish was strong and I said my "hi's" to the girls before escaping to the fresh air of my bedroom. Before sliding under the sheets to sleep, I turned on my computer and checked my email. Sure enough, there was a reply from Renee.

She was so glad that I had made it safely and wished me well with my first week of class. She also wanted to know about my new friends. A few times in our decision-making process, Renee had expressed concern about my relocation for the last couple years of high school. "Won't you miss your friends here?" she asked. But the truth was I didn't really have any close friends throughout high school. I'd just never gotten close to anyone enough to feel like they were worth staying for.

_Hi Mom, _I typed out, _it's good to hear from you. How's life in Phoenix without me? I hope you're finding things to keep you busy. Well, my first day of classes went fine, and I don't think I'll have any trouble keeping up. P.E. could be a little rough, I guess, but you know it always is for me. As for friends, my roommates introduced me to a lot of girls that they hang out with, and I did homework with another two girls tonight. They're really nice and I think we'll get along well. Okay, I'll talk to you later… I love you! _Sending it off, I shut down my computer and crawled into bed.

Sleep came slowly as I reflected on what the day ahead would bring. The whole new school thing was still kind of overwhelming, but I felt like I had a better handle on things now that I'd been through my schedule once. There were people I could hang out with. The homework wasn't hard. Going through all of the positive parts of my current situation, I couldn't deny that there was really only one thing weighing heavier than every other good thing.

I was pathetic. I'd been aware of Edward Cullen's existence for approximately 24 hours and suddenly he was making the difference between a good day and a bad one. If that wasn't obsessed, I didn't know what was. His glare in Biology still cut my heart and once again I had to bolster myself with the knowledge that I was doing the right thing. If I tried to be friends, I would only end up getting my heart broken and looking like a ridiculous fool. Forcing my eyes closed, I finally drifted off to sleep.

The next day passed much like the first. I wasn't late for breakfast with Lauren and Jessica, and I found out that I had, in fact, done my Calculus assignment correctly in first period. Mike had also done well while Jessica had not. I suggested that maybe they study together and was rewarded with a brilliant smile from Jess. So easily pleased. Mike on the other hand didn't look quite as excited, but said that he would be willing to help if she wanted it. I was happy with my matchmaking attempt for the day and left for next hour with a feeling of pride.

This quickly deflated when I walked into the door and saw my golden eyed Adonis sitting towards the middle of the room. Steeling myself to do the impossible, I stalked past as though I didn't see him and sat in the seat I had taken yesterday. At least I could stare at the back of his head and his gloriously tousled bronze hair without him noticing. We were given a pop quiz on the first few chapters of _Pride and Prejudice_ and assigned to read the next couple. When it was over, Edward left class as rapidly as he had the day before, leaving me in his wake without a second glance.

World History was bearable because Alice and Rose were there. I had to suffer through Spanish, though, trying to ignore Mike so he would pay attention to Jessica. As I was making my way through the lunch line with Jessica, ready to head for our table, Alice appeared at my side. "Hey, Bella!"

"Hi, Alice," I said, "What's wrong?"

She pretended to pout. "Does something have to be wrong for me to want to talk to my new friend and invite her to sit with me?"

I had to laugh at her expression, but said, "Thanks for asking, but I don't think that would be the best idea."

"Why not? Sitting with me is a bad idea?" She looked confused and I had to backtrack. There was no way she could ever know how I felt about her brother. I hadn't known her for very long, but I could tell she was the kind of girl who would do something about it.

"I, um, had something I needed to talk to Lauren about," I fibbed uncomfortably.

She looked skeptical and said, "You're not a very good liar, Bella, but I'll let you off the hook today. You should know, though, that I'm going to get to the bottom of this and that you should be prepared for a major guilt trip next time!" Her laugh tinkled merrily as she glided away toward the rest of the Cullens and Hales.

I sat down with my roommates and their friends, who looked at me curiously. Lauren was the one who finally asked, "So what did Alice Cullen want?"

"Oh, nothing important. She just wanted to make sure that I had people to sit with for lunch." I hoped that sounded innocent enough; it was sort of true. Lauren didn't look exactly happy about my answer, but she didn't look upset either. All the other girls appeared slightly incredulous.

Jessica was the one who leaned in to fill me in on what was going on. "The Cullens and the Hales never invite anyone to hang out with them. Sure, they're involved in school activities and stuff, but usually they just keep to themselves. I wonder why they're talking to you," she mused.

I feigned ignorance and shrugged, carefully keeping my gaze fixed to my lunch. Alice wasn't making this any easier. It was pretty obvious that Lauren didn't get along with Edward's sister and her best friend. Or either of the guys, for that matter. It was probably hard to watch the new girl getting close to her boyfriend's family and friends when they were at odds.

I felt like I was being torn into different directions. On one hand, I certainly didn't want enemies. I wasn't sure if that was what Lauren would become if I stayed friends with Alice and Rosalie, but she definitely didn't seem excited about me spending time with them. But on the other hand, I didn't see how my decision to be friends with Edward's sister and friend had any direct bearing on her and Edward's relationship. That was up to her, and I should be able to be friends with who I wanted.

I wasn't going to avoid Alice and Rosalie for Lauren's benefit. My resolve to ignore Edward didn't change; he was still clearly off limits for my overly attached heart. However I thought I could still hang out with the girls and not cause problems. This choice made, I decided to stop by Alice and Rosalie's room again tonight, just to see what they were up to. I hoped I hadn't hurt Alice by turning her down just now.

The rest of the day passed quickly as I tried to remain detached during Biology, both to Jacob's advances and Edward's ignorance of my existence. I wished Jake would back off a little, but there wasn't a whole lot I could do. At least he wasn't getting physical, just flirtatious. P.E. was a blur of volleyballs flying through the air towards my head. I stayed out of the way, mostly, while Mike chivalrously did both his part and mine when we were on the same team.

Finally, homework was done, dinner was over, and I was on my way down the hall to visit Alice and Rose. Nearing their door, I saw it was cracked open and heard voices and laughter coming from the other side. Disappointed that they already had company, I turned to go back to my own apartment when I tripped over a pair of shoes someone had left outside their doorway. I fell right into the door and onto their floor. For a moment, there was silence, then booming laughter.

"Emmett!" From my undignified sprawl on the floor, I saw Rose reach over and whap the huge, laughing, bear of a guy from my Calculus class sitting next to her on the couch. "Don't laugh! Bella, are you alright?"

Blushing dark red, I mumbled, "I'm fine. It happens all the time." I started to get up when a hand appeared in front of my face to assist me.

"I doubt Emmett's gigantic shoes trip you up _all_ the time," the blonde boy said grinning, as I accepted his help up from the floor. "I'm Jasper, by the way."

"Bella," I said, "but it's not like you didn't catch that already."

"Nothing like a formal introduction," Jasper said, shaking my hand politely before releasing it.

"See Rose," Alice declared, "There's another reason why my boyfriend is way more amazing than yours. I'd take the gentleman over the oaf any day."

"Well, this is _my _oaf, and that makes all the difference in the world," Rosalie countered, kissing Emmett on the cheek as he pulled her closer.

Looking away from their little affectionate display, my gaze met another set of eyes that I hadn't noticed yet. Golden eyes. My stomach dropped to my toes when I saw Edward sitting leaning back in the loveseat, his previously relaxed position now tense with displeasure at me crashing—literally—their party.

It was torture, but I dragged my ogling stare away from his flawlessly toned body emphasized by a snug fitting t-shirt and jeans to Rose and Alice's faces once again. "I should go," I murmured quietly. He obviously didn't want me here, and for good reason. I'd done my best to make him feel that way. "Sorry for bursting in on you guys like that," and I turned towards the door.

"What!?" Alice screeched. "You are not going to just walk out on me after refusing to sit with us at dinner! Get back here, _Isabella_."

I groaned, "You know I hate that."

"I promise I won't call you _Isabella_ if you stay and hang out with us… " she said, her voice now wheedling. Despite the stiffening of the figure on the loveseat at this request, there was no way I could turn down Alice's pleading expression.

Sighing, I went to sit on the floor against the couch's armrest next to Alice. "Okay, you win this time, but you can't use the puppy-dog eyes again. That's really not fair."

"Well, if you would just tell me yes the first time, I wouldn't have to use them," she reasoned, and I rolled my eyes.

Jasper saw my face and laughed. "Trust me, Bella, I've learned that better than anyone. I can't say no and she knows it."

"That's what you get for letting a woman wrap you around her little finger," Emmett teased before letting out a sharp "Ow!" Rosalie's elbow jabbed his side and he immediately amended his words. "Of course if she's the most wonderful woman in the world, then it's alright."

"That's what I thought," said Rose smugly and everyone burst out laughing. Almost everyone, that is. I was beginning to feel more comfortable when I saw Edward shift in his seat from the corner of my eye.

"It's been fun, guys, but I'd better jet. There's something I need to finish for class tomorrow." His musical voice was slightly cold as he stood to his feet. I had the oddest sensation of intense relief that I wouldn't have to keep up my apathetic façade if he was leaving, but at the same time I hated the fact that his presence would no longer be near me.

"Aww, Edward!" Alice groaned. "And just when Bella showed up too." Of course, he and I both knew that was precisely why he was leaving. I felt awful.

"No, it's okay. I was just going to stop by, but I can come by later…" I rushed through my words, forgetting I was supposed to act like his feelings meant nothing to me. I started to scramble unsuccessfully to my feet and ended up tripping on the rug. Before I completely face planted on the floor—again—a set of arms shot out and caught me just in time.

With a shock, I realized I was being held by Edward Cullen and all my mind could clearly process was: _Holy crow, he smells good._ Blushing tomato red against his chest, I whispered a quiet and humiliated, "Thanks."

"Not a problem," he responded, his voice a bit strained. Carefully, Edward set me back on my feet and gestured toward the loveseat. "You'll probably be safer sitting down." With my face still crimson, I made my way over to the seat as he turned back to Alice. "Sorry, Al. I _really _should go. See you in the room, guys." And with that, he walked out the door.

It took me a minute to regain my composure. If I had felt the electricity from touching his fingers yesterday in Brit Lit, this had been like hugging an electric generator. I was definitely going to have to keep my distance, or I would forget myself.

Jasper's voice finally pulled me back to the present: "I see you weren't kidding about getting tripped up all the time."

"Unfortunately, no," I said wryly. "I should probably just get a walker or something since I'm basically crippled."

"Or maybe a wheelchair," joked Emmett and we all burst out laughing.

"If you just hang out with Edward, you won't need either," said Alice, raising an eyebrow suggestively. I could see the sly look on her face and changed the subject immediately.

"So what were you guys doing before I burst in so rudely?" I asked.

"Just hanging out," said Rose. "I'm glad you came by, Bella. It's nice to have a little girl company, too. Sometimes all the testosterone in the air makes me claustrophobic."

At this Emmett struck a muscle man pose, flexing his biceps. "Yes, I know it can be a bit overwhelming at times," he teased before a poke in the side from Rosalie caused him to deflate.

As the conversation went on, I found myself fitting right into their friendly group. I couldn't understand why Jessica and everyone else thought they were so stand-offish. They were so much fun! Alice and Emmett kept up the lively sibling banter while Rose and Jasper jumped in with stories and comments. I felt like I had known them for years instead of hours. I only regretted that Edward was missing out on all of this because of me.

Eventually it got late and the guys were supposed to head back to their room. I got up to leave with them, but not before Alice made me promise to come over again sometime that week. Happily, I agreed, deciding to try an afternoon instead, when the guys would be out at soccer practice.

Staying up late that night had me running late the next morning. I missed breakfast and had to dash to make it in time for Calculus. Unfortunately I had forgotten my assignment to turn in and had to run back to my room in between classes to grab it and hand it in. This side trip in turn made me late for Brit Lit.

I was the last one in the door, slipping in just as the bell rang. My eyes swept the room and my stomach dropped when I realized that the only open seat was next to a certain bronze-haired god. Cursing my luck, I trudged over to sit down and forced my attention to the front of the room.

Turns out cursing my luck was a bad idea. The teacher announced that we would be discussing the chapters we had read of _Pride and Prejudice_ thus far with the person next to you. Groaning internally, I wondered if my day could get any worse.

With the same reluctance I felt, Edward turned to face me and I tried to maintain steady breathing when his gaze met mine. "Let's get this over with," he sighed. "You read the chapters, right?"

"Of course I did," I huffed indignantly. "This is one of my favorite books!"

"Whoa, no need to get defensive, I just asked," he held up his hands as if to shield himself from my outburst. I grimaced apologetically, and he went on. "So what are your feelings on Elizabeth's ridiculous, uncalled for, rude behavior towards Mr. Darcy?"

"Sounds like you already have a pretty clear opinion about all of that," I commented. "Personally, I don't think she's being that ridiculous. He completely misjudged her without really getting to know her."

"Well, he saw how her family was behaving so inappropriately at that first ball and it was natural to assume she would be just like them. Granted, he shouldn't have insulted her, but she shouldn't have taken it so seriously. I mean, if she hadn't been so cold, maybe he would have changed his opinion of her," Edward answered.

"It wasn't just his personal insult to her, though," I reminded him. "Wickham lied to her about Darcy's bad character and Bingley's sister told her that Darcy was practically engaged to Lady Catherine's daughter. From what her previous experience with him already, how is Elizabeth supposed to know it's not true?"

"She could just ask him," Edward said vehemently. "She doesn't know any more about Wickham or Bingley's sister than she does about Darcy. Wickham has rotten character and Caroline's just jealous. Elizabeth just believes their lies because she wants to!"

"I think, deep down, she knows she has feelings for Darcy, which is why his insult hurt so much. See, look," I said, reaching for my book to show him the paragraph I was referring to. "Rats, I forgot to bring it."

"Here," he said, handing me his copy, "Use mine."

I took it out of his hands and flipped to the right page. "Right here, it explains how she's feeling. There's no way she's going to go to him and ask, 'So, did you really ruin Wickham's life and are you planning to marry this wealthy girl?' Besides, it's totally logical that he would marry Miss de Bourgh. Their families are connected and they're both rich."

"She's just being stubborn," Edward persisted. "Elizabeth's too stubborn to admit her feelings. If she did, the whole mess would have turned around so much faster."

"I don't think that's entirely true," I objected. "Darcy has pride issues of his own to work through. He won't acknowledge his feelings for her either."

We both sat there frowning at each other before Edward cracked a smile and we started to laugh at our own argument. "You really do like this book, don't you?" he asked me when we had gotten a hold of ourselves. "You like all that drama that they go through?"

"I think I like the fact that they both end up owning the fact that they were so wrong about each other and once they do, everything finishes happily."

He reflected on what I said and nodded sagely. "I can see that," he allowed. "But I still think she should have just gone to him right away and asked."

"And I still think that things would not have worked out the same way if she had," I answered, grinning. "But I suppose we'll just have to agree to disagree."

"Alright, then," he answered, returning my grin. For a brief moment, there was a connection, a lull in the middle of our hostility. I wanted so dearly to stay in that moment, but it was interrupted by shuffling chairs and the bell announcing the end of class.

He was brought to reality the same time I was, and his previously friendly expression shut back down to the familiar distant stare. I rearranged my features to reflect his, picked up my bag, and headed out the door without a second look. Letting the walls down like that was dangerous, because they got harder to put up each time.

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Edward's POV:

I had to sit for another moment after she walked out the door before I could move again. Trying to collect my thoughts and remember what class I had next, I grabbed my stuff, and started down the hall. It had only been a few days, but I was starting to get used to the constant ache in my chest.

It had started the moment Bella pulled her hand out of mine on Monday. I had been thrilled to see that we were in the same British Literature class, but at the same time apprehensive. Walking over to sit next to her, I steeled myself for the moment I had been thinking about all night. I was hoping so hard that all my worst fears would be proved wrong and that she would be different.

And at first, it certainly seemed that way. The adorable way she dropped her pencil, the charming rush of blood to her face when she met my eyes, her soft voice, how she had immediately played along with my teasing... She was even more than I had hoped for. Those memories replayed themselves over and over in my mind.

Then suddenly, it was gone. I watched her smile disappear and her warm, brown eyes turn to ice and I felt the pit of my stomach twist. But it was when she took her hand away from mine that the ache had started.

It was like there was a gaping hole in my chest that I hadn't known about before I met her and touched her, but the moment she was gone, the hole opened wide. The rest of that period had been torture and I found myself gripping my desk trying to keep control. I was bewildered that a mere girl could have this kind of effect on me, and in such a short time.

I was trying desperately to keep my end of the bargain. If she was stuck up like the other girls, I would let it go and move on with life as usual. The difficult part was, I didn't want life as usual; I wanted life with her in it. Every time I saw her, it got worse.

I found myself staring at her during meals. Watching her in the halls. She caught me glaring at Jacob Black in Biology. I didn't know what came over me, but when I saw his arm draped over the back of her chair, a heat like I'd never known before surged down my spine. Jacob's answering defiant stare only increased the jealousy—there, I admitted to myself what it was. I had to turn around before I did something I might regret later, though I was pretty sure I wouldn't be sorry for smashing his smirking face in for a long time, if ever.

And through it all, she remained cold. Last night had been excruciating. Seeing Bella suddenly appear in Alice and Rosalie's room almost surprised me out of my resolve. I was about to leave before I completely broke down, when she fell right in front of me. It was instinct to catch her, but the moment I held her in my arms, the pain was gone. It was as though she belonged there with me.

Of course, I had to let go. I left as soon as possible and felt like I was leaving a part of myself in the room with her. Somehow I was going to have to figure out a way get back to my previous way of existing, when she hadn't been part of my life, and fill in that missing piece with something else, perhaps. I had never felt so envious of my siblings and friends, that she would want to stay and hang out with them yet show no interest in me at all.

But after our discussion last period, I knew I'd only gotten myself deeper into this inexplicable attachment. I had been far too enthralled by her passion arguing for her point of view to remember to remain distant. The ice had melted away during our discussion and in its place was the Bella I had seen in the beginning.

I had to remind myself not to be fooled by those brief moments, and sure enough, the second that I remembered my personal agreement, she grew frosty again. Without a backwards glance, she was gone. Leaving me with the pain in my chest and the knowledge that somehow I had to come to terms with the fact that brown-eyed angels had no reason to want to be with me.

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**Aww, sad! Edward feels so alone and rejected... wish I could help, but we all know Bella is the only one who can touch his heart. Hope she figures that out soon, lol!! R & R...**


	5. Show A Little Skin

**Hey guys! I'm thrilled to hear that you all are enjoying reading the story as much as I am enjoying writing it. Keep up the feedback... it makes it fun for me!**

**Disclaimer: As much as I love Edward and Bella and all things Twilight, I don't own them. The possession of such joy belongs to Stephenie Meyer.**

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I didn't remember very much about the rest of my classes that day. I kept drifting off in my head back to Brit Lit and the conversation I'd had with Edward. Not even a near death experience in gym, in which one of my serves came dangerously near to taking out a kid playing on the court adjacent to ours, could distract me from my thoughts. Sitting so close to him and watching his face as he'd tried to convince me of his point of view with so much conviction had been amazing. Seriously, I didn't think guys cared enough to read, let alone understand, classic literature. It embarrassed me to admit that his involvement with the plot had maybe—no, really—turned me on. If I wasn't so sure of my own stance on Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy, his eyes alone would have persuaded me he was right.

When the school day was finally over, I sat down at my desk to start my homework. I knew if I started with the next assignment of chapters of _Pride and Prejudice_, I wouldn't ever be able to focus on the rest of my work. Calculus proved to be enough to fully engage my brain for over an hour. That professor acted like Calc was the only class that really mattered, and he assigned homework in accordance with that belief. I only hoped that I would get faster at finishing the extensive problems as the term went on. Finally putting away the math book, I dragged out a worksheet from Biology.

That reminded me once again that I should really plan something out with Jacob to work on our project. It wasn't going to happen by itself, that was for sure. Maybe he would be free this weekend. After a while, I completed the worksheet and tried to curb my emotions when I pulled Jane Austen's novel from my bag. Flipping through the pages to find the designated chapters, I noticed some unfamiliar underlining. _I don't remember underlining that phrase, though it is important_, I mused to myself. I almost wrote it off to forgetfulness when I saw some notes written next to a paragraph in elegant script.

_What in the world? Who would have written in my—_that's when it hit me: this wasn't my book. Reviewing my conversation with Edward, I suddenly remembered borrowing his book to show him a point I had made. Obviously I had forgotten to give it back to him and had walked off with it in my own things. _I'll just return it in class tomorrow,_ I decided, when it hit me that he had to read the chapters tonight, too. And that meant I was going to have to go and take it back myself.

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad… he was probably still at soccer practice, anyways. I could just leave it outside their door and get out of there. Before I lost my nerve, I grabbed Edward's book, stood up, and walked out the door and into the guys' building. Glancing at the numbers on the doors, I kept moving closer and closer to apartment number 37. I'd heard Rose mention the guys' room number once in conversation, and like the stalker I was, I logged it mentally with every other fact I had gathered about Edward.

Suddenly, there it was. Feeling jumpy, I almost dropped the book and ran, then thought better of it. I had to at least pretend I had tried to return it safely instead of leaving it alone and vulnerable in the hallway. What if someone stole it? _That's ridiculous, Bella… like some teenage boy is going to come along and swipe a copy of _Pride and Prejudice. _Right. _But I had to have some sort of excuse for knocking on their door.

I prayed no one would answer it, but the phone lines in heaven must have been busy. The door flew open and Emmett's wide smile greeted me. "Well look who it is!" he grinned. "And to what do we owe this pleasure?"

"Hey, Emmett," I returned, my mouth curling up into an easy smile. "I just came by to return this book to Edward. I accidentally swiped it in class and he'll need it to do the homework tonight… Oh, hi Jasper," I said as Alice's boyfriend appeared behind Emmett.

"Good to see you again, Bella," Jasper said. I noticed they were both in work out clothes, with cut off t-shirts and athletic shorts, which meant I had been a little off on my timing for catching them out at practice. Jasper saw my appraisal of their clothing and immediately looked apologetic. "Sorry, we probably smell awful. We got out of practice not long ago and Edward got the shower first today. Speaking of which, Emmett, it's your turn."

"Yeah, you really need it," I teased, and Emmett pretended to look hurt before winking and heading towards the open bathroom door. Suddenly remembering why I was standing inside their doorway to begin with, I turned back to Jasper. "I guess you heard what I was telling Emmett about taking Edward's book on accident. Would you mind giving it back to him?"

"Edward's just in his room, Bella. You can return it yourself, if you want." I could have sworn I saw a twinkle in his eye as he gestured to the closed door next to the bathroom, but I knew backing down would give me away.

"Oh, okay," I tried to keep the note of panic out of my voice as I trudged toward his door. Raising my hand to knock, I shot a peek back at Jasper. Sure enough, he was grinning mischievously. I knocked.

"Come in," I heard his velvet voice call from the other side, muffled through the door. Willing my hand not to tremble, I turned the knob and opened it… and stood there in shock. Edward sat at his desk facing away from me, wearing athletic shorts like Emmett and Jasper… and only athletic shorts. His hair was still damp from his shower, tangled in a glorious bronze mess. My face started to burn and my mouth became dry as I stared at his muscular back and broad shoulders. I had never seen anything so hot in my life. Until he turned around.

Probably wondering who was standing in his doorway in silence, Edward glanced backward and when he saw me standing there, his eyes widened. "Oh, hey Bella…" Standing up immediately, he faced me, his expression showing bewilderment and something else that made my insides quiver. I must have been imagining that last part, which was highly likely considering my brain had quit functioning at the sight of his bare chest.

I couldn't help myself; I gawked at his impossibly gorgeous upper body and when my gaze trailed down towards his defined abs, I felt another wave of heat flood my cheeks. Feeling myself in serious danger of losing my consciousness, I forced my eyes back up to his face. It took him a moment to connect my wide eyes with his lack of clothing and immediately spun toward his closet, pulling on a t-shirt.

"Uh, sorry about that," he murmured, embarrassed. I wasn't sorry at all. It was another second before I remembered why I was in this situation at all.

"I, um, brought you your book back. I must have t-taken it this morning." I hoped my voice didn't sound as breathless as I thought it did. Quickly turning and walking a few steps out his door, I froze when I felt a hand on my arm. My skin was on fire where he touched me.

"Are you going to give it back to me?" I almost dissolved into a puddle on the floor at the combination of his deep golden eyes so close to mine and his voice like melting honey, let alone the irresistible smell of his clean skin and damp hair. My mind still moving slowly, I realized I was still gripping his book in my hand.

"Oh, oops," I tried to laugh and hide my mortification. However my face gave me away again, and I felt pink staining my cheeks again as I delivered it into his waiting hand. Knowing I needed to get out of there before I did something even more ridiculous or worse, revealed my concealed feelings, I conjured up a casual tone and said, "Have fun reading… I guess I'll see you in class tomorrow."

"I'll be there," he promised, and then his mouth turned up into a dazzling crooked smile. "Thanks for bringing this by."

"No problem," I practically whispered. I still had the presence of mind to wave at Jasper as I walked out the door, his expression dimly registering as maddeningly raised eyebrows. "See you later, Jasper." Somehow I made it back to my room in one piece; it was as though I was lost in a fog. I knew what I would be dreaming about tonight.

Picking up my own copy of _Pride and Prejudice, _I stared at the pages blankly, but my thoughts were elsewhere. Mostly they consisted of _Lauren is so lucky _and _I can never look at him the same way again. _Which meant that I was definitely not going to stop by Alice and Rosalie's room, just in case. Jessica poked her head in my door a while later announcing that she and Lauren were heading down to dinner. Finally coming to my senses, I followed them to the dining hall and sat at our usual table.

From my peripheral vision, I could have sworn I saw Jasper and Alice watching me from their table, but knew they were probably just laughing at my latest embarrassment. Keeping my eyes safely averted, I never made visual contact with any of them for the remainder of the meal, especially Edward.

Successfully finishing my meal without looking directly at any one other than my own table, I holed up in my room for the rest of the night. I was just glad that I had read the book so many times before, because the words barely registered. This had to be seriously wrong; I was totally obsessed. Hoping that sleep would cure me of my Edward-fixation, I went to bed early.

Thursday morning dawned warm and sunny and I jumped out of bed right away. There was no way I was going to be late like yesterday. Making sure that I had all of my stuff together, I left for breakfast with Lauren and Jess and was on my way to class right on time. Calc passed quickly, as did British Literature. I reclaimed my previous seat in the back row, and Edward sat in the middle of the room as before. It was difficult, but I kept my eyes away from the contours of his shoulders through his thin shirt and on the professor's lecture.

Walking into World History, I was ambushed by a very excited Alice. "We're going swimming this afternoon. You want to come, Bella?"

"Uh, I think I have homework I should get done…" I hedged, sliding into my seat behind the girls. I wasn't too keen on hanging out in my bathing suit in front of the whole Academy. I knew it was such a gorgeous day outside that lots of people would be taking advantage of Thomas's pool.

"Of course you're coming! Rose and I'll be by to pick you up right after classes are over, ok?" she pressed, and I knew there was no way I could deny her. She looked so eager to spend time with me and I didn't have the heart to turn her down.

"Sure, Alice," I sighed. Her face lit up and I couldn't help but smile. "It'll be fun, I guess."

"It sure will," she assured me. "Oh, and there was something else I was planning on asking you about. You are aware of the Fall Formal coming up next weekend, right? …" her voice trailed off ominously.

Come to think of it, I had seen flyers up around the halls on bulletin boards. I'd promptly blocked it out. Dances were not my thing, and any formal event that involved me wearing heels in public was not in my range of abilities. "Well, I saw the flyers, but I'm not going," I answered her.

"What? Bella, you have to come," Rosalie pleaded. "It's like the highlight of the fall semester!"

I began to explain my coordination issue, the fact that I didn't have anything to wear, and I couldn't very well just show up by myself. Alice just rolled her eyes at my list and began ticking a new list off on her fingers. "One, you don't have to dance the whole night long. You can sit at the tables and enjoy the atmosphere if you want, which rules out the clumsiness factor. Two, having nothing to wear is easy to solve, and a problem that I will happily take it upon myself to fix." Her eyes gleamed at the thought of shopping. "And third, I'm surprised you haven't already been asked to go at least twenty times already. They must all be biding their time or something. Anyways, getting a date shouldn't be an issue, seeing as all the guys at this school are drooling over you."

"Yeah right, Alice," I grimaced. "I don't really want to go with any of them anyway."

"None of them?" she pushed, curious.

"None of the single ones," I amended carefully. Trying to turn it into a joke so she didn't think I was serious, I said, "Now if Jasper was single, I might take him…" Her eyes narrowed immediately and Rose snickered at her friend's response. "Just kidding, Alice," I said, and she relaxed, laughing at her own overreaction.

Saving me from further conversation and persuasion, class began. Before turning around, Alice whispered, "Remember, we'll pick you up after school." I nodded and she smiled happily.

Alice's warning came just in time. Mike caught me right outside the door to Spanish class and cleared his throat awkwardly. "Hey Bella," he began, and I knew exactly where this conversation was headed. "I was just, um, wondering if you were going to the Fall Formal with anyone next Saturday?"

With as much sincerity as I could muster, I said, "I don't dance." His mind must have flashed back to reruns of my recent performances in gym, because he nodded with understanding.

"Well, we don't have to dance. I just wanted to know if you'd go with me," he tried again. I knew I wasn't getting out of this so easily, so I made a decision.

"Actually, I'm going with Alice Cullen and Rosalie Hale. I thought it would be fun to go with some girlfriends, and they asked me to join them." I groaned internally as I thought about what I'd gotten myself into. They were going to be thrilled when they heard this.

"But won't they be with their boyfriends?" Mike wanted to know. He looked crestfallen and I tried to push away the twinge of guilt I felt looking into his disappointed face.

I sighed and started to reply, when I saw Jessica coming our direction. I shifted my game plan. "You know Mike, I don't think Jess has a date yet. That surprises me, seeing how she's so pretty and interesting and fun…" I laid on the compliments really thick. He didn't look quite convinced, but I continued quickly. "I'm sure she'd love it if you asked her."

Jessica walked up at that moment and greeted us with a, "Hey Bella… Hi Mike!" Insert bright smile here. "What are you guys doing outside the door?"

"Oh, Mike just had a question before class," I generalized carefully. "But we'd better get going. The bell will ring soon." That was enough to break up the mini pow-wow and the three of us walked into class and took our seats.

While things were a bit stiff between Mike and me during lunch and P.E., I knew he'd get over it. I think his attitude improved a miniscule amount when three different guys came up to me at lunch and one in gym who asked me to the Fall Formal and I turned them all down. At least he knew he wasn't the only one rejected. I wondered what brought on the sudden deluge of would-be dates. They were probably just desperate and thought the new girl would say yes.

Once I got out of gym, I returned to my room and dug my swimsuit out of a dresser drawer. It had been one of the purchases that Renee had insisted on before coming to a new school in California. Apparently she held the same stereotypes of the California surfer culture that the rest of the world did, and a new bikini was imperative to me fitting in. I had just tied the halter at my neck when there was a knock at my door. "Are you ready yet, Bella?" Alice's voice called.

"Yeah, you can come in. I just need to get a cover-up and I'll be ready to go," I answered, and the door opened immediately.

"Oh Bella," Rose cooed, "That's such a cute swimsuit! You look hot in blue…" She nudged Alice at that last part, and Alice nodded in agreement, as though logging the information for some future purpose. Probably for if I ever went shopping with them.

"Um, Rose, I think you need to look in the mirror to see the real definition of hot," I told her. "Alice, you too. I'm surprised Emmett and Jasper let you out in public looking so gorgeous!" They laughed at that, but it was true. Rose's little red string bikini under her cover-up was super sexy and the black bandeau top with keyhole bottoms that Alice wore were stunning on her tiny figure. I looked down at my own bikini and felt a little better that mine covered the most skin. It was a classic bright blue halter top and tie-side bottoms; I wouldn't let my mom go any more risqué than that. At the time I had been embarrassed, but now I was just glad I hadn't gone swimsuit shopping with Alice and Rosalie. I would probably have ended up with much less fabric.

Quickly slipping on a tank top and shorts, I snatched my towel and shades and we were on our way to the pool. My earlier guess that there would be lots of people out enjoying the sun at the poolside had been correct, and the three of us were lucky to grab three lounge chairs together at the far corner. We set our things down and spread out the towels over the chairs before going for a quick dip in the water. It felt really good, but there were a bunch of guys horsing around in the shallow end, so we got out right away.

Lying out under the bright sun, letting the warmth melt the water droplets from my skin was really relaxing. I had just closed my eyes under my sunglasses when suddenly I heard a bunch of whistles and catcalls. Glancing around to see what was going on, I saw a group of guys jogging past the pool. They were all sweaty and when I saw Jasper at the edge of the pack, I realized that it must be the soccer team's warm-up for practice. Girls swimming and lying out all over the pool deck were laughing and whistling at the guys as they ran past.

"Hey there, Sexy!"

"Why don't you run by again, Brett!"

"I bet a jump in the pool would cool you down, boys!"

"Looking hot, Edward!"

My head snapped around at that last one before I could control my reaction. Sure enough, there he was leading the team from the front. He didn't respond to the catcalls, keeping a steady pace for the rest of the guys. As they got closer to our corner of the pool, Alice gave a little wave and smile to Jasper, who winked appreciatively at her revealing swimsuit. Emmett let out a whistle of his own for Rose when he saw her and she just grinned coyly, batting her lashes. Edward glanced over to see what his brother was whistling at and saw our little trio on the deck. I pretended to look down, glad that my sunglasses disguised how I was staring at him.

His eyes however were in plain view, and I could have sworn they were fastened on me. Suddenly I felt very exposed and self-conscious in my little bikini. I hoped that everyone assumed my pink cheeks were caused by the hot sunlight and not from Edward's attention. Too bad Lauren was way more gorgeous than I was and too bad he was absolutely perfect. Otherwise I might have allowed myself to hope. As things lay now, the only place Edward and I would ever be together was in my dreams. And believe me, he was there every night.

It was easier to breathe normally when the team had jogged by and he was no longer in sight. Turning to Alice and Rosalie, I found them giggling together, presumably about their boyfriends' recent appearance. I thought I heard something about "the plan," but when they saw me looking at them, they stopped abruptly. Alice immediately filled in the moment with a question. "Rose and I were thinking about ordering in pizza for dinner; want to join us?"

"Sounds great," I said, pleased to extend my time with them. I was pretty sure Lauren wasn't going to be around tonight anyways. She had mentioned she had a study group or something to go to. She had seemed excited about it, which struck me as unusual, since she didn't strike me as the type of girl to go to study groups. Or was she working on a project? I didn't know, but it would be nice to have Alice and Rosalie's company while one of my roommates was busy. Especially since I couldn't even look at Lauren today without feeling guilty over the thoughts I had been having about Edward.

We hung out at the pool for a while longer before returning to Medsen Hall. We parted ways so I could shower and change before our pizza party, letting Jess know I wouldn't be at dinner tonight while I was in our apartment. Then I made the trek down to Alice and Rose's room, ready for the fun to begin.

* * *

Jasper's POV

Astonished, I watched as Edward missed yet another shot at the goal. He had been making thoughtless mistakes throughout practice and I could see our coach getting worried. I had never seen the guy so distracted before in all the years I had known him. Something was seriously up, and I was pretty sure I knew what that something—or rather someone—was.

I had first noticed something different about Edward on Monday. He seemed moodier than usual, not joking around with the rest of us like he normally did. Something was on his mind. I even asked him what was up to see if he needed to talk about anything, but he said he felt fine.

It was Tuesday night, though, that I began to get an idea of what was going on. Bella fell through Alice's doorway and I may have been the only one to see it, but Edward's face came alive for a brief moment before returning to its previous scowl. Even more confusing, they acted like the other one had no effect on them. I mean, honestly, you would have to have been senseless not to notice the practically high voltage current between those two.

That current had been present yesterday afternoon as well. Between Bella's blushes and Edward's inability to look anywhere but at her, Bella's visit to our apartment to return his book had been extremely telling. Like the good roommate I was, I had known Edward didn't usually put on a shirt right after his shower, so I sent Bella right in. I just wanted to see what would happen and my answer confirmed what I had guessed. They liked each other. A lot.

As though I needed more convincing, what had just happened during this afternoon's warm-up left no doubt in my mind. Edward had practically veered off course when he saw Bella lying out at the pool, like he was being drawn in by a tractor beam. What confused me was why they both acted so cold to each other all of the time. They thought they were doing a good job of pretending, but the only ones they were fooling were themselves.

And that's where Alice's newly hatched master plan would come into play. She had asked last night if I had noticed anything unusual about Edward's behavior, perhaps pointing to an interest in a certain new best friend of hers. She was of the opinion that Edward and Bella were perfect for each other. In agreement with that conclusion, I filled her in on my observations. After hearing what I'd noticed about Edward, she told me, "We need to do something. They obviously need help figuring this out."

Oh, Alice… That's one of the reasons I loved her so much: she always cared about her friends and family in a big way. There was no halfway for Alice; if she really believed in something, then she would go for it wholeheartedly. And I could tell that she was all for Bella and Edward getting together. From what I'd seen of Bella, I thought she was exactly what he needed, too. Edward and I had been best friends for years and in the few days I had known Bella, something about her had fit Edward completely.

I only hoped that she and Rose would be able to keep the secret for another week. So far they had done well and neither Bella nor Edward suspected anything. If they figured any of this out, I was afraid it would backfire, but Alice wanted to stick with it. Watching Edward's distracted performance at practice, I was convinced again that Alice's scheming was necessary. If it didn't work and things continued this way, the soccer team was going to be looking at a rough season with a practically mentally disabled captain. I only hoped that it turned out the way we planned. We just had to hold out a little over a week and then we would let Edward and Bella sort it all out.

I was roused from my reflections when a soccer ball came flying in my direction. Moving instinctively, I trapped it and began setting up a play that Coach had taught us last week. There would be time to think through all of this later. Right now, I welcomed the workout. It was going to be one of the highlights of my day, I realized. Neither Emmett nor I had been exactly thrilled to hear that Lauren Mallory was coming over tonight to work on a Biology project with Edward.

* * *

**Surprised? Lauren and Edward are going to spending a little 'quality time' together... uh oh. And what's Alice's big plan? I bet you have a pretty good guess... haha. Review and tell me what you think about how things are going.**


	6. Sneaky Schemers

**Sorry if this chapter seems kind of all over the place, but there was a lot I wanted to fit in here. Hope you can keep up and aren't too confused!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own it. But the awesome person who does, Stephenie Meyer, has a new book coming out in approximately 6 days, 21 hours, 29 minutes and 27 seconds, as of now! I'm so excited!**

* * *

Dinner with Rose and Alice was fun, just like I knew it would be. We devoured the pizza in no time and in between bites, laughed and talked. When Rosalie brought up needing to go to the mall over the weekend to get shoes for the Formal, I was reminded of what I had told Mike.

"You guys," I started reluctantly, "I kind of told Mike Newton that I was going to the Fall Formal with you."

Rosalie smiled happily and Alice let out a high-pitched squeal and clapped her hands. "Bella! I'm so excited you agreed to go all by yourself… otherwise I would have had to drag you. And that might have ruined your dress." She flinched at the thought.

"We don't have to worry about that," I laughingly assured her. "I didn't bring a formal dress to school, so ruining my skirt wouldn't have been a big deal."

She frowned and said, "So we'll just go shopping for a dress."

"No." I was firm. "I'm not getting a new dress just for one night. It's not even a huge deal, I'm just going with you two and Emmett and Jasper. Not like I have to impress a big date or anything."

Alice opened her mouth to object, but Rose jumped in. "She's right, Alice," she said quickly. "Well, what if you let us come over on Saturday morning and we'll help you pick an outfit?" Her eyes flashed to Alice, who pouted for a moment. Rosalie cleared her throat quietly and Alice suddenly brightened up.

"Uh, yeah, Rose. That's a great idea!" Her inflection was unnaturally agreeable, but I decided not to worry about it. I was just grateful I had gotten out of shopping so easily, so I figured it was the least I could do. Besides, any fashion help I could get would go a long way.

As usual, our time together flew by, and I knew I should go to start my homework before it got too late. Saying goodbye, I headed out the door and back to my own apartment. When I walked in, I saw Lauren and Jess sitting on the couch in the main room, giggling about something. "What's going on guys?" I asked.

"Hey Bella," Jessica greeted me carefully. I wondered if she had guessed what went on between Mike and me before Spanish, because she had been a bit aloof lately. "Lauren was just telling me about the 'project' she was just working on." At the word 'project,' she and Lauren glanced at each other and snickered.

"Which project? Looks like you had a good time," I commented, and thought I saw Lauren's eyes narrow at me before she answered.

"Oh, you know. The project we're supposed to do for Bio," she answered smoothly. My stomach dropped when I realized the reason for her good mood. She had just spent the whole evening with Edward. I tried to compose my expression as she continued, "It's a good thing Edward is so smart, because we got done really fast. Which left more time for _other things_." At that phrase, she looked at Jess meaningfully and they both giggled again.

"That's nice," I tried to force a normal sounding voice through my tightened throat. I pasted a fake smile on my face, hoping she wouldn't see through it, and said, "I should probably work on homework now, too. See you two tomorrow." Escaping to my room and closing the door, I let my smile crumble. I could still hear Lauren and Jess talking in the common room, so I turned on my stereo quietly to drown them out. I didn't want to hear even an idea of what had happened between her and Edward. Sometime I was going to have to face the truth, but I couldn't do it now. My heart was still too involved.

Also, I had caught snippets of conversation over the past week about some bonfire they were planning for after the Formal on Saturday night. But with their recent remoteness towards me, I didn't expect an invitation. I wished Jess could see that I wasn't trying to get Mike to like me, and that Lauren wouldn't be so defensive about all the time I spent with Alice and Rosalie. Like tonight proved, that didn't affect her relationship with Edward at all. It just made it harder for me.

I tried to be extra cold to Edward the next two days, which proved to be rather easy since he was ignoring me just as hard. Thursday and Friday dragged on and I couldn't imagine going through the whole term this way. Lying was not a skill of mine, and trying to cover up feelings this major was taking a toll on me. I was just glad that the weekend was coming and I wouldn't have to suffer through the exquisite pain of seeing him everyday knowing he hated me.

I was awakened Saturday morning by an evil pixie ripping off my sheets and exclaiming, "Why aren't you up yet? It's already seven o'clock!"

"What?" I groaned. "It's Saturday. There's nothing going on today…"

"Don't you remember? Rose and I are going to… uh, pick out your outfit for the Formal. So get up and get ready! Here, wear this." Lucky for her, I was too out of it to argue and obeyed without a fuss. I already had on the top and jeans before my brain fully kicked in.

"Why do we have to do this so early? And why am I wearing a nice top?"

"Don't ask questions, Bella," Rosalie commanded as she brushed through my tangled hair, smoothing it out. Once I was adequately presentable, Alice snatched my purse from the floor and started out the door. Rose followed.

"Where are you going?" My voice jumped an octave in concern as I began to suspect foul play. They wouldn't…

"Come on, Bella," Alice's words cajoled me. "Don't be difficult. The mall isn't open forever, so we need to get going!" Traitors. Since I was already awake and dressed, there was nothing I could do but trail along behind them out to the parking lot. Grumbling under my breath something about the waste of a good Saturday, I climbed into the backseat of the car as the two conspirators I thought were my friends chattered happily together in the front.

"Aw Bella, cheer up!" said Rose, turning in her seat. "It'll only be awful if you make it that way. I promise it will be worth it!" Alice nodded in complete agreement.

"Fine, but only because I love you two so much," I allowed. Though I knew they would take full advantage of my forgiveness, I did make up my mind to try and enjoy the experience. That became more difficult as we paraded through store after store, hour after hour.

But they were right. It was worth it. I knew it the moment I looked at myself in the three way mirror, that dress made the whole episode worth the tired feet, the endless "last stores," and millions of shopping bags. When Alice and Rosalie saw me come out of the dressing room, they knew it too. Their mouths opened and Alice breathed, "That's the one."

It really was beautiful, and I almost felt beautiful when I was wearing it. It was a satiny, dark blue strapless dress, cut low in back to the middle of my spine. The material flowed and clung to my body in suggestive movements until it ended at my knee. A bit of matching blue lace delicately accented the bodice and I knew it was perfect. Alice made me change out of it right away and confiscated it immediately. I thought I heard her mutter, "He'll love it," but immediately realized she was probably talking about her own dress and Jasper's reaction, which was certainly true.

She never even glanced at the price tag on mine, insisting that perfection has no price. I wanted to protest, but we were already on a quest for the perfect shoes. Two hours later, each of us had a new dress for Fall Formal, matching shoes, and way too many other extra bags of clothes. Rosalie shot down each of my objections to how much money they were spending on me, so I just kept my mouth shut, wondering if I was ever going to wear all of these clothes. They were far too generous.

The rest of the weekend passed without incident, and I wasn't deceived into any other unpleasant experiences. Getting up for school on Monday, I was chagrined to find myself looking forward to classes. It was pathetic; I hadn't seen Edward for two days and I was having withdrawals. Of course, the joy of seeing him in Brit Lit and Bio was dimmed by the fact that I still had to be rude and aloof. He didn't even acknowledge my presence any more, making my job easier.

However, there was one moment of the day when he seemed to notice my existence. In Biology, Jake was flirting with me as usual and I tried to divert him by asking when we were going to work on the project. "The due date is coming up next week, you know," I reminded him.

"Yeah yeah," he responded unconcernedly. "It'll get done."  
"What about this weekend?" I pushed. His lack of concern was starting to worry me.

"What about this," he grinned suddenly. "You go to the Fall Formal with me, and then we'll work on the project."

"Sorry, no deal," I answered, thankful that I had agreed to go with Alice and Rosalie so much earlier. I'd been asked repeatedly throughout the day, and it didn't look as though the invitations were going to stop anytime soon. "I'm already going with friends."

"Are you sure, because I can promise you it'll be way more fun with me," Jake leaned closer to me, putting his arm around me and winking. My shoulders tensed uneasily and I fought a blush.

"I-I'm sure," I stammered, with as much finality as I could muster. I didn't know exactly what it was, but something about him made me uncomfortable.

"Fine then," he muttered. "We'll work on it after the Formal." He leaned away from me again and I relaxed a little bit, until I heard a low growl come from his direction. Glancing over, I hoped I hadn't upset him too much by my rejection but saw a completely different reason for his irritation. Edward Cullen was glaring at us over his shoulder with narrowed eyes. I had no idea what his problem was; I thought our conversation had been too quiet to disturb class and he had no reason to care about either Jake or me.

Nevertheless, I felt a little thrill for the few seconds his sharp gaze met mine before turning its icy force on Jake. Jake looked back just as fiercely, making me wonder what these two had against each other. It must be something really important. Finally, the staring match was over and I was left with my curiosity unsatisfied.

Alice and Rosalie grew more and more excited about Fall Formal as it got closer, telling me all of their big plans for my hair and makeup. I went over to hang out with them Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon, because they wanted to practice on me before Saturday. I put up with their enthusiasm as best I could, but Alice still pouted, "You don't have to look like we're chaining you up in a torture chamber."

"Yeah, you're right. The torture chamber would probably be more fun."

"Bella, you know you don't believe that," Rose said, as she let another ringlet of curls out of the curling iron. I just huffed in response, but couldn't prevent a smile from creeping onto my face. These two were such good friends, and I would never admit it, but I liked being cared for this much.

Mike tried one more time in P.E. on Thursday. "Would you reconsider going to the Fall Formal with me, Bella? I would really really like to go with you…" I felt like I was kicking a puppy, but I had to turn him down again. There was no point in leading him on.

"Sorry Mike. I've already made plans with Alice and Rosalie." His face fell further, and I decided to work on the Jessica front a little further. "I can't believe you haven't asked Jess yet, though."

"Why?" He looked surprised, and I was amazed at how oblivious he was.

"Well, I'll happily kill you if you tell her I said any of this, but I think she would really enjoy going with you. She thinks you're pretty awesome." That last comment was a definite understatement; Jess thought Mike was the best thing since sliced bread.

His face was startled at this revelation. "Oh, I didn't know that." Obviously. "I guess—if you're sure…" I nodded with confidence. "I'll ask her, then."

"She would love that," I said encouragingly. I hoped that was the last time I would have to match make for those two. They just needed to hurry up and get together once and for all. I walked back to my apartment, surprised to find the door cracked open.

Just before pushing it open, I heard Jake's voice. That was strange… he never came to visit us. Perhaps he had a change of heart and wanted to work on the Bio project now. His words floated out into the hallway to me: "… sounds good to me, but I thought you were friends…"

Lauren's voice answered him: "I just want you to be there and do your thing, if you know what I mean… everyone knows you've been wanting to. Be hospitable like only you can." I could just picture her smirk.

"Well, thanks for the opportunity, I guess. I didn't think you were like that…" I was thoroughly confused and decided to quit eavesdropping. The moment I pushed the door open, their conversation stopped and Lauren's face immediately became friendly.

"Hey, Bella! Good to see you," she told me, unusually sociable for this past week.

"Uh hi, Lauren," I answered, wondering what caused her change of heart. "Hey, Jake."

"Hey to you too," he winked at me, and then stood up. "Well, I'll be on my way now, but it was good talking to you, Lauren."

"Anytime, Jake, anytime. Thanks for your help," she said, and he just smiled and walked out the door. "So, Bella," she turned back to me. "I'm planning a bonfire after Fall Formal this Saturday night and I'd love it if you'd come!"

"Sure," I answered uncertainly. Maybe she'd just had a rough week and was trying to make up for it. Whatever her deal was, she seemed to be over it and I was eager to clear the air between us.

"Great," she said. And that was the end of the conversation. _Weird_, I thought. Alice and Rosalie had insisted that I spend all of Saturday with them, and I was not about to object. Lauren and Jess had been acting strangely towards me for the past couple days. They still asked if I was coming with them to meals and they would talk to me in the evenings, but I could sense a hostile undertone to our interactions, even after Lauren asked me to come to the bonfire. I chalked it up to Jess and my imagined rivalry over Mike and Lauren's disapproval of my friendship with Alice and Rosalie.

But to their credit, the invitation to the bonfire was an attempt at staying friends. I wasn't exactly looking forward to it; after the past couple of weeks, I still hadn't connected with the group that they hung out with. However, I had agreed to go and I hoped that it would be a step in the right direction to keep the peace between the three of us. We were roommates, after all, and I didn't want to be in conflict for the rest of the year.

Of course, if I had to confess it to myself, the other reason I didn't want to be in the same vicinity as Lauren on Saturday was entirely selfish. I knew that watching her get gorgeous for the Fall Formal—a whole night with Edward—would make me sick. Knowing that every curl in her hair, every brush of mascara, every swish of her dress would be for his benefit was not something I wanted to be around. So, like the coward I was, I agreed to come over to Alice and Rosalie's room first thing Saturday morning.

All of my things for the Formal were at their place so all I brought was myself. Opening their door, a frightening monster with a green face popped around the corner and greeted me. "Bella, you're here!" Alice's voice came out of the monster's mouth and it came over to take my hand and drag me to the bathroom. "Sit on this chair and I'll start your facial, too." It snatched a bottle from a counter loaded with ominous looking beauty supplies and equipment.

A second green-faced monster came out of Rosalie's door and laughed at my wide eyes. "Have you ever had a facial mask before?"

I shook my head as I watched Alice squirt some green stuff into her hand. "What's that going to do to me? Turn me into a monster like you two?" They rolled their eyes at my ignorance.

"No Bella, it just exfoliates your skin, deep cleans your pores, and promotes an even, radiant complexion," Alice patiently explained. Spreading the mask over my face, she sighed at my blank expression and said, "It's good for your skin."

"Oh," was my only response. I had learned that the best thing was often to keep my mouth shut and let them torture me, because no matter what I said or how loudly I protested, they always got their way. Besides, if they were doing it to themselves, how bad could it be?

The morning passed quickly as we watched episodes of America's Next Top Model—"to inspire us," Rosalie said—in between unnecessary beauty treatments. Once our faces were sufficiently cleansed and radiant, it was time for the makeup. This was something I dreaded, because all of my past experiences with the stuff had ended with me looking like a deranged clown escaped from the circus. I just had no gift for it.

I should have known I had no reason to worry, though. Rosalie was practically a professional, applying the shimmery eye creams and smoky liner to my eyes adeptly. After sweeping a few coats of mascara to my lashes, she let me look in the mirror. "You've been holding your breath for the past few minutes, and I think it might help you relax if you take a peek at your gorgeous face," she joked. Hesitantly, I did just that, and almost gasped at what I saw. This was no circus clown; a beautiful girl stared back at me from the mirror, her warm brown eyes accented with glistening eye shadow and a dark fringe of lashes.

"Rose, you're amazing," I said in wonder.

"No Bella," she said, pushing me back into the seat for the finishing touches, "You're just beautiful, that's all." I couldn't roll my eyes for fear of getting poked with a mascara wand.

While Alice and Rose did their makeup, they told me to have some snacks in the common room. I needed to eat something to settle my stomach before the big night, they said. I couldn't understand why they were making such a big deal out of this. I was just going to be hanging out with them, and Emmett and Jasper of course. No need to get so extreme with the beautifying, but try telling that to them.

Fixing our hair was the last thing on the makeover list, so once again I plopped into the chair of doom. They spread funny colored goop through my hair and began wrapping each lock up into a hot roller, pinning them into place. Alice did the same to Rosalie's tresses next, and I was sure her golden hair was going to turn out far better than my mousy brown mane. My hair had never held a curl, but I didn't think it was going to have a choice tonight. Alice could intimidate anything, including uncooperative hair.

Alice's short locks were styled carefully, as she flipped individual strands to the sides with a shimmery pomade to create a sophisticated, edgy version of her usual look. She spritzed shine spray over her head when it was done and turned back to my hair. The curlers were cool, and as she pulled each one out, I was shocked to see a perfect ringlet fall down my back. She twisted and coiled each curl, piling some at the back of my head and letting the rest cascade from there. With a few stray strands floating around my face, she sprayed finishing spray on the whole thing and I was thoroughly impressed with her skills.

Rosalie's hair turned out amazing, just like I knew it would. Heaped in a golden mass on top of her head, she looked like a goddess. Her stunning red dress was only going to perpetuate that image, and I knew Emmett was going to have his hands full keeping the admiring males of Thomas Academy off of her, let alone controlling himself.

All the work with our hair had taken up the last hour of waiting before it was time to leave. The Formal was being held at a downtown studio in Santa Ana, a city only a half hour away, so Alice, Rosalie, and I had planned on leaving with Jasper and Emmett around five so we wouldn't have to rush. Now it was time to complete the transformation and put on our dresses. Mine had been hung in their extra room, so each of us went to a separate room to change. Sliding into mine, I was careful not to mess up my hair or get makeup on it. I zipped up the side and fastened the stiletto death traps Alice had insisted on onto my feet. I waited in the common room for the other two to come out.

Rosalie, like I knew she would, looked like a supermodel in her red, low cut, spaghetti strap dress. Alice was quite the little vixen herself with the slinky black number she had chosen. Jasper would love it. For a fleeting moment, I wished there was someone who would appreciate me in my dress the same way, and I had a very specific someone in mind. Unfortunately, I would have to spend my evening ignoring that specific someone.

"Perfect," Alice breathed when she saw me. She exchanged a look with Rose who nodded in agreement.

Suddenly, Rose glanced at the clock on the wall. "Oh, I promised Emmett I would, um, tie his tie for him before we left. I'll see you guys in the parking lot in a minute, ok?" She snatched her clutch purse and dashed out the door. That left Alice and I sitting together on the couch. She continued to look at me appraisingly.

"You know Bella, I think a necklace would be the perfect thing to finish off the look," she said. Leading me into her room, she opened up the jewelry stand on her dresser. "Pick one you like." There were so many to choose from, I started to look through each hook.

At that moment, Alice's phone buzzed from her purse. She looked at it and quickly snapped it shut. "I've got to go see what Jasper needs. Don't go anywhere, ok?" she commanded and I nodded, still looking through her jewelry. I heard the door shut behind her and found a delicate silver necklace that lay against my collarbone. Going back into the main room, I waited for several minutes, wondering what Jasper could have wanted Alice for. After another few minutes, I grew impatient and started to pace the floor as well as I could in my ridiculously high heels.

Finally there was a knock on the door. "Come on in," I called. "You don't have to knock on your own door, you know." I wondered what was wrong with Alice.

"Alice, are you ready to go?" An all too familiar velvet voice stopped me in my tracks. The door opened and—it couldn't be—but there he was. The absolute god that was Edward Cullen was standing in the doorway, dressed for the Fall Formal, staring at me just like I was staring at him.

* * *

Alice's POV

I was so mad. But I knew this was how it had to be. Seriously though, after all that planning and scheming, I wished there was a way I could have been there to see their reactions, especially Edward's. She had looked amazing and I just wanted so badly to see his jaw drop and his eyes bug out.

Jasper turned to look at me as he pulled out of the parking lot towards Santa Ana and grinned, and I had to smile back. It was impossible to stay aggravated around him, and I started to reflect on the positive side of things. Our grand plan had finally come to fruition: we'd gotten Bella and Edward together for the Fall Formal.

In just a few minutes, Edward was going to be walking into my room to pick up Rosalie and me. However, the only person who would be standing there was Bella. Rose and I had made our exits a good twenty minutes before I told him to arrive, just in case he decided to be a bit early. The whole thing made me want to cackle and rub my hands together in satisfaction; I was such an evil genius. They were stuck together for the rest of the night.

I knew I'd have to deal with Bella's fury when they arrived at the Formal… _How could you do this to me? I was so embarrassed! You little traitor, I thought you said that I could go without a date. You didn't have to hook me up with your brother! Now he's trapped with me all night and you know we don't get along. _But that was precisely my point. This was my gift to them, a chance for them to finally work out whatever was between them so they could finally admit the way they really felt about each other. Because to be honest, it was getting slightly ridiculous seeing the way they acted around each other.

Jasper had filled me in on Bella's little incident walking in on a shirtless Edward, and the accompanying stuttering and blushing. She'd been so thrown off she couldn't even remember why she'd come in the first place. Once she left, Edward had been pretty out of it too, staring off into space until Jasper or Emmett got his attention.

And I didn't need Jasper to explain what had happened at the pool last week, either. Rose and I had seen the exact same thing he had when Edward ran by us with the rest of the soccer team. His face was priceless, staring at Bella lying there in her bikini like he had never seen a girl before. Unconsciously swerving ever so slightly in our direction, he'd come back to reality when one of the other guys had almost run into him. Jasper told me that Edward had been basically worthless at practice that day, and had stayed in the same unfocussed state for the past week.

So since all of this pointed to the rather obvious conclusion that they liked each other, why in the world did they pretend like the other one didn't exist? They were just making themselves miserable. Both Rose and I had talked on numerous occasions about Bella's hesitance to discuss Edward, though she didn't mind talking about Emmett or Jasper. She shied away from any activity that he might be remotely involved with, and completely ignored him when he was around. Only when she thought no one was looking, I caught her staring at him.

Edward was just as bad. All Jasper's attempts to draw him out about Bella led to a dead end. He simply refused to talk about her, dismissing the topic as though it meant nothing. He kept up an unfriendly pretense in her presence, but practically sulked when she wasn't there. Only when he thought he was unobserved did he give in and watch at her.

All of this pointed to only one solution: I needed to step in. Rose and Jasper had been part of my planning process, but we all knew Emmett would give it away and let his mouth run before his brain kicked in. Honestly, I was glad Rose was in it with me, because a couple of times I almost messed up the whole thing. It had been hard enough to convince Edward to come to the Fall Formal; he'd never gone in years past, and I'd had to use all of my sisterly charm—and guilt trips—to make him agree. Finally, the day had arrived for my stubborn brother and my stubborn Bella to work out whatever was separating them. I just hoped Edward wouldn't screw it up; Bella was exactly what he needed.

At that moment my phone vibrated. Speak of the devil, "Edward" showed on my display. "It's Edward," I told Jasper with a smirk, and flipped the phone open. "Hello?" I said, in my sweetest, most innocent tone.

* * *

**Were you expecting/hoping for that?? I know I was... lol... that's why I'm writing this story. And I'm sure we're all hoping for the same thing Alice is... these two had better not mess it up! **

**Review, my lovely readers! New and exciting things are coming!!**


	7. Revelation

**Hope you haven't been in too much suspense, wondering what Edward and Bella are going to do with Alice's little set up. Read away, my little readers!**

**Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns all these characters, and I really hope she's not upset that I fell in love with them enough to write this fanfic!!**

* * *

"Hey," he said quietly.

"Hi," I breathed, embarrassed out of my mind to be in this situation, but unable to fully process anything but the fact that Edward Cullen and I were in the same room, alone. I could feel a blush creeping into my cheeks and I was pretty sure my mouth was hanging open. Edward was just so good-looking on a day-to-day basis that he was positively dazzling in his clothes for the Formal. Slate grey dress slacks paired with a nice black button-down shirt skimmed his impressive physique, the sleeves cuffed a couple of times and two buttons undone exposed his sculpted forearms and an enticing glimpse of his throat. It was a colossal tribute to his face that I was able to pull my eyes away from the rest of him and focus on it. But once my gaze settled there, I never wanted to look at anything else in my life.

His bronze hair was flawlessly tousled, a few strands falling over his perfect forehead. The chiseled cheekbones defined the contours of his face, leading my eyes towards his faultless nose and down to his mouth. His lips were slightly parted and before I could stop it, my mind was imagining exactly what I wanted to do with those lips. My face turned even brighter red and I quickly averted my gaze to his eyes. That didn't help my frame of mind at all, however. The black of his shirt contrasted with their warm, topaz color and suddenly the rest of the world disappeared. I wished I could be lost in those eyes forever. It was far too easy to let my infatuated brain interpret the expression in them as admiration, when I knew it just had to be an unwelcome shock.

Edward was just as frozen as I was, and we stood there staring at each other for a long moment until his cell phone buzzed. Snapping out of his shock, he slipped it out of his pocket and turned off the vibrating. "That was my alarm to come pick up Alice and Rose," he explained. He looked around the room questioningly. "Where are they, by the way?"

I scrambled to collect my scattered thoughts and said, "Rose went to help Emmett with his tie, and Alice said Jasper needed something. But she'll be right back," I reassured him. "Do you, um, want to sit down while you wait?"

"No, that's alright. If she's going to be fast, then I won't be long."

"Okay," was my genius response. We stood there awkwardly, not speaking, for what had to be at least five minutes. "She's been gone for twenty-five minutes now," I broke the silence. "Is there something you needed? Maybe I could help…" I was too dazed by his nearness to keep up my frosty charade.

"Well, Alice told me to come by to pick them up for the Fall Formal at five-thirty," he explained. He surveyed my appearance again, an appreciative gleam in his eyes, saying, "It looks like they ditched you too."

"What? They wouldn't do that," I said, shocked. "They practically forced me to come with them."

"Me, too," he said, rolling his golden eyes. Wait, didn't he mean Lauren forced him to go to the Formal? What was he still doing here, anyways? They were going to have to leave soon and he was coming by to pick up his sister and her friend? Confused to the extreme, I suggested that we call Alice to figure out exactly what was going on.

He pulled out his phone again and called her number. She picked up right away and I could faintly hear her lilting voice on the other end. "Alice?" Edward said. "Where are you?… Oh, well why didn't you tell me you're already on your way? Am I supposed to meet you there?… No, Bella's still waiting here for you, as was I… You're such a great friend, Alice, ditching your best friend and your brother like that…No… no… we're all ready, so I guess we'll just meet you there, then." My breathing stopped at that last phrase. "Yeah, okay. Whatever, Alice, save the innocent act for someone who believes it. See you there." He hung up and looked back at me. "She _says_ she forgot about us, but I know Alice too well to believe that."

"She set us up," my voice dripped with fury. How could she do such a thing to me? This was embarrassing beyond words; now I was going to have to ride to the Fall Formal with Edward and Lauren. Fantastic. I started picturing exactly what I was going to do to that malicious little pixie and her scheming blonde friend, when Edward's velvet voice broke through my violent thoughts.

"It's probably time to leave by now. Shall we go?" He offered me his arm and I tentatively placed my hand on his elbow, grateful for the support in my dangerous shoes. Trying desperately to focus on not tripping instead of the fact that Edward Cullen was touching me, I didn't realize we were in the school's parking lot until we came to a stop next to a shiny silver car. I had to admit I was slightly impressed to see that he was driving a Volvo; their family must be pretty well off. He opened the front passenger door for me and I slid in as gracefully as I could. Lauren was going to be so mad when she saw me in the front seat and she had to sit in the back.

So when Edward took his seat behind the wheel and started the car, my bewilderment had reached its limit. "Aren't you going to, uh, pick up someone else?" I asked, too humiliated to even say her name.

His eyebrows drew together in an adorable frown. "No, not that I know of," he said. He shot a cold glance at me and his mouth formed a hard line before continuing, "Sorry, but I guess you're stuck with me for the next few hours." I wanted to fall apart right there and tell him the truth, that there was nothing I would love better than that, but I realized that he was probably going to meet Lauren there. It he'd already planned on taking Alice and Rosalie, and then Lauren would not have wanted to go with them.

I felt like such an unwanted piece of baggage. He was only driving me there as a favor to his tricky sister who called herself my friend. I slid farther down into my seat in shame. Here I was, driving to the Fall Formal with the devastatingly gorgeous Edward Cullen, and it was only because he felt sorry for his sister's friend who got ditched.

The silence seemed to stretch endlessly for the first few minutes, until Edward reached to turn on the stereo. I was surprised to recognize the familiar strains of "Clair de Lune" float from his speakers. I turned to look at him and asked, "Debussy?" my voice betraying my incredulity. The captain of the soccer team liked classical music?

His expression mirrored my disbelief. "You listen to classical?" he asked.

"Enough to recognize my favorites," I said.

The corner of his mouth turned up as he told me, "This is one of my favorites, too." There was more to him than met the eye and I couldn't deny that I was intrigued. "So what's on your playlist right now," he wanted to know.

I thought back to the CD I'd put in my stereo a few nights ago. "Um, Linkin Park, I think." He turned to look at me for a moment before leaning down and pulling out the exact CD from several others in the compartment under his seat. "That's the one," I said, amazed. I took it and pretended to study the cover art, while really marveling at the coincidence of our similar musical tastes.

I looked up to hand it back to him only to find him studying me intently. I blushed under his gaze, hoping he wouldn't notice the effect his presence had on me. "You're beautiful, you know that?" he said suddenly. My blush deepened at the unexpected compliment and he looked a little shocked himself at his own words.

Trying to pass it off as a joke, I said, "Yeah, I've been told that before."

His eyes hardened infinitesimally as he replied, "I'm sure you have."

"Rosalie tried to convince me of the same thing this afternoon, but she's too nice for her own good. Besides, she would have poked out my eye with a mascara wand if I corrected her," I laughed.

He looked incredulous. "You don't believe it?" I shook my head with conviction and he started to say something when I saw the speedometer.

"We're going ninety miles per hour!" I screeched. "Do you have a death wish?"

Edward just laughed and looked at me like I was the crazy one. "I always drive this fast. Minimizes travel time," was his brilliant excuse as his golden eyes mocked my terror.

"Keep your eyes on the road," I nervously ordered him. "I want to get to Santa Ana alive so I can beat up Alice myself. I'm just glad Volvos have such high safety test ratings." With a chuckle, he turned back to the road.

From there, conversation started to flow more naturally. I decided that if I had been granted this small space of time with Edward, I would enjoy it and go back to ignoring him when Lauren showed up. I was sure he would do the same thing. But for now, we were in neutral territory, thanks to Alice, and I was going to make the best of it. Edward really was the most fascinating, clever, adorable, brilliant, decent guy I had ever met, and I was pretty sure that wasn't a biased opinion. When I saw a sign announcing the exit for Santa Ana, my heart sank. Too soon, our truce would be over and it would be back to the same hostility we'd shared before.

Pulling up to the downtown studio where the Formal was being held, Edward was out of the car and opening my door before my seatbelt was off. He took my hand to help me out of my seat then opened the back door and lifted his suit jacket out, draping it over his arm. He then reclaimed his hold on my arm, escorting me to the door of the building. I was thoroughly impressed with his gentlemanly behavior and planned to tell Alice she had trained him well—after I got done beating her up for deserting me, of course.

It took my eyes a minute to adjust to the dim lighting inside before I could appreciate the atmosphere. Softly lit globes hung from the ceiling above the tables and candles glowed in the centerpieces. At one end of the large room, I could see a long table set up with drinks and refreshments, and at the other end, lights pulsated around a dance floor. There were already a lot of students here, walking around in the middle of the tables and a few were out on the dance floor already. Girls were dressed to the hilt and I was impressed to see how well the guys cleaned up also. Thomas Academy certainly didn't do things halfway.

Scanning the tables placed between the food and the dance floor, I spotted Jasper and Emmett leaning back in their seats next to Alice and Rosalie. Edward saw them at the same time, and we moved together toward the guilty party. I approached Alice from the back, quietly slipping my hand around her neck. "Forget something?" I asked menacingly.

She jumped and let out a sharp squeak before she recognized my voice. Spinning around in her seat, she saw Edward standing behind me and her face spread into a delighted smile. "Oh Bella, I am _so_ sorry that I _forgot_ to come back and get you," she exaggerated her words in the least believable way possible. "Wasn't it _lucky_ that Edward just so _happened_ to show up and that you two could come together?"

"Yeah, amazing how that all turned out," I said sarcastically. Rose giggled and I turned on her next. "And I suppose you knew nothing about this either?"

"Nothing at all," her innocent response a little too wide-eyed.

"Why don't you two sit down and relax?" Jasper asked. "We saved your seats for you."

Edward guided me to the open spots while muttering, "Not you, too, Jasper." We sat down in the empty seats, Edward laying his jacket on the back of his after pulling mine out for me carefully.

Emmett just looked totally confused. "What's going on, guys? I thought you never came to this kind of stuff, Edward, and we all know Bella can't walk, let alone dance. And why all the inside jokes?" Poor guy must have been left out of the evil scheming. At least there was one other guiltless person in this group. When no one answered him, just smirked at each other ever so pleased with themselves, he sighed. "Fine then. Well, can we go get some food now? I'm starving."

"That's a great idea, Emmett. You boys run over there and bring some back for us, ok?" Alice commanded. Glimpsing my seething expression, under her breath she added, "Looks like we need a minute of girl time."

As the guys got up, Edward leaned down and whispered into my ear, "Don't kill her completely, ok? She is my sister, after all." His breath warmed my ear and neck and I couldn't help but blush when he grinned at me playfully. Then he walked off to join Emmett and Jasper, while I turned back to Rose and Alice, who were both looking immensely satisfied.

"You two are so cute together," Rosalie sighed.

"You can thank me later," said Alice, and I just glared at her.

"Thanks a lot, you guys," I hissed. "It felt so great to get ditched by your two best friends, just so you could set me up on a pity date with your brother." I was still really mad that they'd planned this whole thing.

"What was his reaction when he saw you?" Alice wanted to know, leaning forward eagerly.

My face heated up remembering my own reaction to him, but I tried to keep an even tone. "Uh, he didn't say much, just sort of looked at me." Their faces got all sappy and I continued sarcastically, "Probably because he was trying to deal with the shock of being deserted by his sister for some abandoned stranger."

Rosalie shook her head knowingly. "I'm pretty sure I've got a good guess what was going on in his head, with the way you look tonight, Bella."

"I don't think so, Rose," I said and changed the subject before things got too embarrassing. "You know Lauren's going to hate this."

"Well, yeah," Alice retorted. "But who cares what she thinks?"

"Um, you don't have to live with her!" I said, exasperated. "She already hates the fact that the three of us hang out so much, and when she finds out that Edward drove me to the Formal instead of her, she's going to flip."

"Why does it matter?" Rose looked genuinely confused.

I decided to go with the easier answer, instead of telling them that I was jealous of her super hot, amazing boyfriend: "It's going to create conflict in our apartment."

"It's not like Edward would have taken her anyways," Rose said. That didn't make any sense. Of course he would have taken his own girlfriend to the Fall Formal. I was about to ask what she meant when the guys came back with our food, breaking up our discussion.

"I see everyone's still alive," Emmett commented lightly, setting the plates on the table.

"I decided to forgive them after all," I huffed. "As long as they don't do it again."

"We won't," Alice promised, and then added under her breath, "Unless it's necessary again."

I ignored that, instead turning to thank Edward, who had placed a plate of snacks in front of me. "I hope you like what I got you," he said, concern etched into his face. "If not, I can run back up there and try again…"

"It looks great," I assured him and the worry was smoothed away. "Thank you."

"Anytime," he said, and his crooked grin made my heart flutter wildly.

He had actually done very well choosing the food on my plate. A slice of cheese spread lay next to the stack of crackers, along with a bunch of grapes, a few chocolate dipped strawberries, and a bite-sized quiche. It was just enough food for me, what with my stomach feeling a bit jumpy. I was glad Alice and Rosalie had made me eat some of those snacks in their room before we came. More importantly, before I had known that they were setting me up with Edward.

When Rose saw the mountain of food piled precariously on her plate, she turned accusingly to Emmett. "Are you trying to make me fat?" she asked.

"Of course not, Rosie," he placated her. "I know that you won't eat it all, so the rest is for me. It's more efficient than going back twice." He grinned, proud of his method.

Rosalie just rolled her eyes and said, "We all know you're going to go back anyways," as she spread cheese on her cracker.

"Yeah, well maybe I'll only go back once, instead of twice this way," he shrugged, before putting his arm around her shoulders and saying, "But even if you decided to eat it all, I would still love you."

We all had to laugh when we imagined Rose consuming all of that food by herself. Jasper turned to Edward and asked, "So what did Coach want after practice today?"

"He just went over a few formations and plays with me before he goes through them with the team next week," Edward explained.

Jasper nodded and said, "Good. I was hoping we'd have enough time to practice any new stuff he gives us before our first game."

"That's in two weeks right?" Alice asked.

Through a mouthful of quiche, Emmett answered, "Yep. On Friday."

"That's gross, Emmett," Alice made a face. Emmett just grinned cheekily. Alice continued, "We've got to start planning our outfits for the game, girls."

"There's dress code for soccer games?" I was confused.

"No, Bella," Rosalie clarified. "We just like to look cute to support our favorite players," and she winked at Emmett, while Alice smiled at Jasper adoringly.

"Oh," I said, and couldn't help but take a quick peek at Edward. He was looking at me with the strangest expression on his face. It reminded me of what I had seen him giving Lauren that day in the dining hall, that odd mix of desire and regret. I didn't have much time to study it, because he looked away as soon as he noticed my gaze on him.

As we chatted and ate our food, I watched the room begin to fill up. Most of the tables had people at them now, and a few more were starting to drift towards the dance floor. Lauren had not yet appeared, nor had Jessica, so I was still safe. My nervous stomach was just relaxing when Alice pushed back her plate and bounced out of her chair. She grabbed Jasper's hand and tugged him towards the pulsating lights and thumping rhythm, begging, "Come dance with me, Jazzy!"

He grinned at her eagerness and stood up willingly. "Let's go, babe," he said, putting his arm around her waist and guiding her through the tables towards the dance floor. That left Emmett, Rose, Edward, and me sitting at the table, and I could see Rose itching to get up and dance too. Pretty soon, it would be just Edward and me sitting awkwardly alone. Once again, I cursed Alice internally. Could she make things any more embarrassing for me? My tenseness returned.

Rosalie waited until Emmett had finished his own plate before pulling on his arm. "You can come back and finish mine later," she told him. "I'm ready to dance."

"Oh, okay," Emmett pretended to be reluctant before seductively growling in her ear, "But only because you look so hot tonight."

She just smiled coquettishly at him as they rose together and made their way towards the dance floor. So we were alone. I wanted to the ground to open up and swallow me rather than have to look at Edward in the dim light of our table. If he felt like he had to ask me out of pity, I would just die. Stubbornly, I kept my eyes trained on the candles glowing in the center of the table, determined to turn down any sympathy invite to dance. However, that determination flew out the window as soon as his velvet voice caressed my ear. "Excuse me, miss, but I was wondering if you would care to dance."

I tried to bolster my defenses, reminding myself that the only reason he was asking was because he felt sorry for me. Opening my mouth to politely refuse, I turned to look at his face. A huge mistake. He was gazing intently at me and I could read no pity in his golden eyes. He looked like he was genuinely asking, and the slight furrow between his eyebrows made him look so vulnerable. As though he was actually worried I would turn him down. He had good reason to worry, I told myself. You've been a jerk to him for the past two weeks. Struggling to catch my breath and organize a coherent thought with Edward looking at me like that, I blurted out the first thing that popped into my head. "I can't dance. Especially like that," I gestured toward the closely packed bodies working it on the dance floor.

His face smoothed out and he chuckled. "It's all in the leading. Don't worry." He stood up and offered me his hand.

I remained sitting, shaking my head glumly. "You don't understand," I tried to explain, "I'm so clumsy I'm practically incapacitated. And with these shoes Alice forced me into, it's going to be ten times worse." I extended my leg to illustrate the danger my stilettos posed to society. His eyes traveled from the shoe slowly up the rest of my exposed leg and I could feel myself start to blush. As if Edward Cullen would have any of those kinds of thoughts about me. He was the unbelievably hot one here.

"I see," he said quietly, grinning to himself. "Well, if you're referring to the fact that you can't walk across a flat surface without tripping," he teased, "I'm well aware of that already. As I said earlier, it's all in the leading. Trust me." I couldn't argue with those eyes; they dazzled me beyond logic and reason. Once again, he held his hand out and I reached up to take it. Just as I had stood up next to him, I saw an unmistakable platinum blonde flicker in my peripheral vision. Lauren Mallory had just walked in the door, flanked by the girls from my usual table in the dining hall.

Steeling myself against the huge disappointment in having to give up what wasn't mine to begin with, I tried to force my tight lips into a smile. "Well, thanks so much for bringing me tonight. I know you didn't have to, but it was nice of you to play along with Alice's little scheming." He looked taken aback and I hurried to explain my change of heart: "Lauren's here."

His expression went from bewilderment to utter astonishment and slight disgust. It hurt to see how the way he viewed me could alter so fast when he remembered his perfect girlfriend, even when saw the obvious differences between us myself. Edward took a slight step back from me, but didn't move to go to Lauren. Beginning to panic, I gave him a little push. "Go to your girlfriend!" I told him, "She's waiting for you."

It was true; I glanced over at Lauren and saw her face morph into resentment when her gaze fell on us standing together. My view of her was abruptly blocked as Edward stepped in front of me again and tilted my chin up to his face. "What did you say," he demanded, his perplexed eyes searching mine.

The pain was so much more acute this way, drowning in their golden depths and having to stare into his perfect face as I admitted my own shortcoming. "I said that Lauren Mallory, your girlfriend, just got here and I'm sure she's anxious to hang out with her boyfriend after he's been so nice to his sister's little friend who got ditched." There, it was out and I expected him to come to his senses and leave me there. Instead, I saw some huge, raw emotion dawn in his face, breaking past the confusion and leaving a wild hope written across his features.

"Lauren's not my girlfriend." It took a moment before the words made sense in my head. I stared at him blankly and he repeated that phrase, the phrase that was causing the icy walls I had built around my heart to shatter. "She's not my girlfriend. She never has been. Where would you have ever heard that… and how could you believe it?"

"Jess told me," I said faintly. My head was spinning as my world shifted. He seemed to notice my disorientation.

"Let's go find somewhere we can talk," he suggested. "It sounds like we have some things to figure out."

* * *

Edward's POV

I was stunned. Never would I have thought that this was going on in her head this whole time. I took Bella's elbow and led her through the crowd toward a side door. She followed me obediently outside, and we found ourselves in a small courtyard behind the studio. We walked to a bench along the wall and as soon as we were sitting, I turned to her. "Please, please tell me why you would have believed Jessica Stanley when she told you something as absurd as that," I implored.

"What was I supposed to think?" she asked me. "I didn't know anyone else here and no one ever corrected my 'absurd' idea."

I was incredulous and I'm sure it showed in my face. "You thought I was with Lauren Mallory," he repeated, and I saw Bella's jaw tighten.

"Yes. Yes I did," she replied. "And I don't see what's so absurd about it, either. I mean, besides the obvious, I saw you guys together."

I searched frantically in my mind for the events she was recalling. I came up with nothing; I avoided Lauren like the plague she was, and I couldn't think of any time Bella would have seen us together, let alone led her to assume that we were a couple. "Enlighten me," I requested. "I have no idea what you're referring to." She took a deep breath and began.

"Okay, first of all, you two are lab partners for Biology."

"She sat by me, I didn't choose to be next to her," I answered.

"Girlfriends can't come into a room and choose to sit with their boyfriend for class?" she asked. "There was no way I could have known."

"Just because we were stuck doing that stupid project together doesn't mean that we're dating," I said, and thought I saw a spasm of pain shoot across Bella's lovely face. I wanted to ask her what she was thinking, but got momentarily distracted by her beauty. Again. I had caught myself staring at her far too many times, but I couldn't help it. She was an absolute siren tonight, and from the moment I first saw her in Alice and Rosalie's room I had tried to keep my emotions in check. I'd slipped a little in the car on the way here, but up until this point, believing that she despised me had helped me contain myself. I had to try not to set myself up for more pain.

Before I could go back to ask what her hurt expression had been about, she continued. "And then you were looking at her in the dining hall the first day of school over lunch, and she got up to go sit with you." I waited for her to keep going and remember the rest of that particular story, but she stopped.

"And what happened after that?" I pressed, and she just frowned, her full lower lip jutting out in confusion. Repressing the urge to kiss her right there, I finished the story. "I told her to get back to her own table," I said and her eyes widened. "I hadn't been looking at her anyways," I confessed in a low voice and watched as blood stained her cheeks pink when she grasped what I meant by that.

"I think I left before I saw that part," she whispered. She was silent for a moment before I remembered the pain in her face earlier.

"Was there anything else," I asked softly. "These are all from the first few days of school."

Her voice was so quiet I could barely make out her words. "At the end of last week, the two of you worked on the Bio project." Hurt seeped through her tone: "Lauren said you had fun doing _other things._" I felt a growl rumble deep inside of me as I imagined that dirty liar Lauren telling Bella things like that about us.

Trying to control my anger so I didn't throw the door in and throttle Lauren right there for hurting Bella like this, I kept my tone even: "So when did Jessica tell you this?"

She turned her beautiful face up to look at me and replied, "The very first time I saw you." My heart almost stopped as things began to fall into place.

"Is that why you've been ignoring me?" She nodded as though ashamed, putting her head in her hands. "Because you didn't want to hurt Lauren?" Bella truly was an angel, to actually care about someone as shallow and selfish as Lauren Mallory.

"I've been such a jerk, and it wasn't even true," she whispered. I tilted her face towards mine and her eyes were full of anguish. Clearing my throat gently, I held out my hand. "Hi, I'm Edward Cullen. I realize we've met before, but I feel as though another introduction is needed. I don't have a girlfriend and I am deeply, truly sorry if I've hurt you with my cold, rude behavior."

An uncertain smile crept onto her face as she put her delicate hand in mine. I felt complete in that moment. "Hello, Edward," she replied. "I'm the one who's been inexcusably rude and I know I can never make it up to you."

"On the contrary," I grinned. "I believe you owe me a dance." Her eyes widened in a charming mix of amusement and terror. "Come dance with me and we'll call it even." Elation filled my whole being when Bella sighed and got up.

"Let's go then," she muttered. "I guess I deserve much worse for the idiot I've been to you."

"It won't be that bad, I promise," I told her as we walked back to the door. In fact, I didn't think anything could ever be bad again. The most beautiful girl in the world had just agreed to dance with me.

* * *

**This one is slightly longer than the others have been, but was it worth it? They finally have it figured out! Hurray!! Review review... it makes me smile!**


	8. Beginnings or Endings?

**Okay, I'm back from Breaking Dawn. I must say, I absolutely loved it and I think Stephenie Meyer did an amazingly brilliant job at bringing closure to this saga. There is a bit of an ache to know that the story is over (at least until we get another perspective of it in Midnight Sun) but I couldn't have asked for a better ending.**

**Anyways, I hope that many of you are still with me after the actual Twilight's conclusion... and that you're still able to enjoy my own story, in it's weak version of SM's genius. **

**Disclaimer: Thanks Steph, for letting me borrow your characters. They're not mine, though I would be Edward's in a heartbeat.**

* * *

We walked together from the fading twilight of the courtyard back toward the faint throbbing coming from the studio door. Edward opened it and held it for me, and I stepped into Fall Formal with new eyes. Suddenly, everything looked different now that I knew the truth. I could join in with the other smiling faces, the pulsing beat of the music flooded my body with adrenaline, and I felt as free as the flickering candle flames on the tables. Edward wasn't with Lauren and before I realized I had done it, I had allowed myself to hope.

Turning to find the subject of my buoyant thoughts, I saw Edward was still a step behind me in the doorway. He was leaning against the doorpost, studying me with an enigmatic smile on his face. But this was a different smile than the ones I had seen so far this evening. Those had been guarded, cautious. This one turned his lips up in a positively tempting curve and the warmth spread into his eyes as he watched me. Feeling a bit self-conscious under his examination, I tried to curb my joyfulness and distract him from his study.

"You said you wanted to dance," I reminded him, "So what are we waiting for… let's get this over with."

"Oh, just admiring the view," he said, causing my heart to sputter. "And believe me, I'm in no hurry to get it over with." With that, he straightened up from the doorway and stepped closer to me, his words and his nearness turning my face pink and making my skin tingle. He clearly didn't know the effect he had on me.

"I'm still not sure if it's safe," I teased, retreating from his unintentionally seductive advance. Of course, me being Bella, queen of clumsiness, I backed against a chair and lost my balance. He reached out to steady me, his hands cradling my waist gently, and I managed to croak out, "See? Not safe." Although I was fairly certain that the risk of my falling was worth far less than the resulting consequence of him catching me.

He chuckled quietly and then released the full force of his golden eyes on me. "Do you trust me?" Dazzled beyond words, I nodded mutely. Tonight had proved to me that if I had anyone to trust, it would be Edward. He grinned then said in a voice like melting honey, "I will be holding you and I will keep you safe. Don't be afraid."

"I believe you." I stared into his perfect face and wished that those words were meant for the rest of my life, not just the next few minutes. Once I realized exactly how obsessive that sounded, I tried to shake the thought from my head. Along with that realization came the one that I was still in his hold from my stumble earlier. Turning in his arms, I set out in the direction of the dance floor, saying, "Let's go, before I lose my nerve."

"I don't see that happening any time soon," I heard him mutter as he followed my lead. This time Edward stayed by my side, keeping an arm around my waist as he guided us through the students standing around the tables.

I was beyond relieved when I heard the music change from the throbbing club rhythms to a slower melody. Letting out a sigh, I could see couples start to pair off as we stepped onto the dance floor. I could handle slow dancing. That didn't involve as much coordination or style; I was convinced I would never be able to move my hips and dance against Edward like what I'd seen out there earlier.

"Shall we?" A velvet voice whispered in my ear and shyly I faced Edward. My cheeks turned all shades of red when both of his hands wound around my waist and held me at my lower back. I was almost too chicken to look at his face when I slipped my arms up to his neck, but couldn't help sneaking a peek. What I saw made butterflies explode inside of me. His eyes smoldered into mine as my hands clasped behind his head and he pulled me even closer. "You see?" He murmured, "There's no chance you'll fall when I'm holding you."

_Just fall for you,_ I thought to myself as we began to sway gently to the rhythm of the music. But instead, I blurted out, "Well then, maybe we should do this more often." Shocked at what had just come out of my mouth, I felt my eyes widen and mortified, I hid my face against his chest. _Oh, he smells _so _good!_

Wracking my brain to come up with something—anything—that would make that comment sound like I had meant it as a joke, I thought I heard him whisper, "I'd like that." Disbelievingly, I raised my head, but there was only sincerity in his expression. "Might I assume that means I could convince you to stay out here for more than one song?"

I was in no position to deny him anything. "S-sure," I stammered. His angelic smile was my reward. _What were the chances of this, _I reflected. _Edward Cullen, wanting to be here, right now, with me._ "I still don't believe it," I said, half to myself.

"I know. Where in the world would Jessica have gotten the idea that Lauren and I were together? And then have the nerve to spread it around?" His tone was a mix of incredulity and anger.

"That's not exactly what I meant," I muttered. "But really, coming into this school without knowing anyone, it wasn't that unbelievable."

Edward studied me for a moment before answering. "That reminds me of something you said outside. What did you mean by 'the obvious'?"

"What?" I was confused, unsure what he was referring to.

"You said that you believed the lie because besides the obvious, you saw us together. What is 'the obvious,' because there's nothing obvious about it to me."

As he spoke, my stomach tightened. He wanted me to compare my own inadequacies to Lauren? Fine, I would just have to totally ruin our perfect little dance by reminding him of how plain I really was. I replied without meeting his eyes, instead staring at the third button of his shirt directly in front of me. "Well, look at me. I'm completely ordinary. Except for being so clumsy I'm almost disabled, I guess. And look at Lauren; gorgeous figure, popular, nice clothes, long, gleaming, blonde hair…"

His warm breath emanated through my hair and I felt his lips move against my head as he whispered, "I prefer brunettes."

That successfully cut off my oxygen as well as my listing of Lauren's desirable traits. I managed to take a shaky breath and tried to calm my overly reactive heart, telling him, "That's the other part of this. Just look at you…" I made a slight gesture encompassing all of his bewildering perfection.

A finger tipped my chin upwards. "Yes, please look at me," Edward requested. Miserably, I met his eyes. His brow was creased almost angrily as his gaze searched mine, and then smoothed into a knowing expression a moment later. "You don't see yourself very clearly, do you?"

Unable to look away, I said doubtfully, "What's there to see?"

"You didn't hear what every guy in the weight room and the soccer team was saying about you on your first day here." His mouth was set into a hard line and his eyes darkened with the memory.

I blinked, astonished. "I don't believe it…"

"You trusted me not to let you fall, now trust me once more. Bella, you are the opposite of ordinary," he stated, completely serious. My face flushed and he grinned at my embarrassment. Pulling me close to him once again, he murmured, "And that is very clearly obvious to everyone but you, apparently."

At that, the song ended and we pulled apart slowly. The music returned to its previous pounding beat and through the flashing lights of the dance floor, I spotted Alice and Rosalie dragging Jasper and Emmett toward Edward and I. "Hey, you two," Alice squealed, "Having fun yet?" She looked back and forth between us with a huge smile plastered on her face. She was visibly thrilled to see that whatever coldness there had been was now gone.

"Edward, wipe that goofy grin of your face, brother!" Emmett teased, and Edward just pulled me nearer to his side in response.

"You'll have to tell us _all _about it later, ok?" Rosalie leaned over to me and whispered. Seeing my nod, she announced to the rest of the group, "Well, since we're all friends now, how about we go back to dancing?"

My panicked look gave me away and Alice laughed before snatching me away from Edward and dragging me farther into the mass of bodies. Before I could escape, we were in the center of the dance floor. "Alice," I hissed, "I can't do this! My hips don't move that way!"

"You're a girl, Bella, of course they do!" She scoffed at my disbelief. "Come on, just relax and start to let it go…" Trying to follow her directions, I began mimicking her lithe movements. "There you go. That's better," she encouraged me as I felt my body loosen up. "Remember, you're gorgeous, you're hot, you're sexy, and every guy on this dance floor wants you tonight. Well, except for Jasper," she corrected, smiling up at her boyfriend who had appeared behind her.

"He better not," an alluring voice growled in my ear. "She's my date." Edward, along with Rosalie and Emmett, had caught up with us.

"Thanks to who?" Alice demanded.

"You and Rose," he admitted grudgingly.

"And you will be eternally grateful," she told him before leaning back into Jasper's chest as they got down to the beat, grinding just like Rosalie and Emmett.

Edward didn't say anything in reply to that and I tilted my head up to look at him behind me. He had that same smile on that he had from the doorway earlier that evening and it grew wider when I met his gaze. His eyes sparkled playfully as he said, "Looked like you were doing pretty well at this whole dancing thing a minute ago. Care to try it out with me?"

"Uh, why not?" I asked, feigning nonchalance. "I might as well try to keep it going, or I'll forget how." The last couple words came out as squeaks when I felt the pressure of his body against mine from the back and his hands carefully wound around me to rest on my hips. Quickly losing myself in the throbbing music and the unbelievable sensation of touching Edward, soon we were moving as one.

He chuckled faintly and his lips burned a trail of fire where they brushed my ear when he whispered, "You're better at this than you think." I was sure he could feel the heat of my blush as it rose from my chest to my neck to my cheeks.

"Oh, you know. It's all in the leading, or so I'm told," I said lightheartedly. With that, the pressure of his hands on my hips became slightly more dominant and my breath hitched in my chest. Edward gently directed the motion of our bodies together and I pliantly obeyed his control. Letting the last of my qualms go, I allowed my arms to rise above my head and gloried in the freedom I felt dancing with him.

We kept going through the next few songs until Edward released his hold on my hips and stepped away, causing my hands to break their clasp on his neck, which I hadn't realized I had done. "You are definitely better at this than you think," he told me, his velvet voice husky and his breath coming heavy.

Breathless myself, all I could say was: "Wow." I could feel the blood pounding through my body as he lead us back to our table, where Alice and Jasper already sat. Rose and Emmett must still be dancing.

"I'll go get us something to drink," Edward said after he pulled my chair out for me. I thanked him before he set off across the room and turned to meet Jasper's amused expression.

"Has he always been this much of a gentleman, Alice?" he asked her.

"Oh, I did my best to train him well, but it's nice to finally see it in action," she replied teasingly. Her expression suddenly went hostile and I turned to see what she was looking at when I heard a voice close to my ear.

"Hey there, Bella! You're looking hot tonight…" Jake stood next to my seat holding his hand out. "A dance for your Bio partner?"

"Hi, Jake," I returned. "And thanks for reminding me about that project. It slipped my mind somehow…" I heard a knowing giggle from Alice and I shot a death glare at her. She already seemed to know too much about my feelings towards Edward and how distracted they had made me.

"We'll get to it tonight," Jake promised, before winking at me. "Come on, just one dance," he coaxed in his most persuasive voice when it immediately turned cold: "Unless _he_ won't let you."

Edward had returned with our punch and stood on my other side glaring at Jake. He attempted to rearrange his features into a more amiable expression as he said stiffly, "Bella is fully capable of deciding who she wants to dance with." His eyes turned to me and I searched them for a sign he wanted me to stay with him. He kept them carefully blank, so I sighed and turned back to Jake. If Edward didn't want me, then there was no reason I should be rude and turn Jake down.

"Sure Jake," I answered. "Just one, though. We'll need the energy to work on that project later." He just grinned impishly in response and led me back to the dance floor. It didn't start out that bad; he danced close behind me, but not near enough to make me uncomfortable. I turned a bit to give him a friendly smile for behaving himself so well, but he took it in the exact opposite way. Jake must have thought I was encouraging him, because immediately he pressed my body against his and started grinding. I could feel his hot breath on my bare shoulder and the way his hands slid along my hips was making my uneasy.

"Did I mention how hot you look tonight?" he spoke softly into my ear, and his fingers began to get a bit too low for my comfort.

"Could you back off a little," I rebuffed his advances. He did some, but not enough to make me at ease with him again. I put a tiny bit more space between us, which helped a little. Wondering when this stupid song was going to be over so I could return to the safety of the Cullen/Hale table, my eyes unconsciously sought them out. It was only the briefest of glances, but I could have sworn I saw Edward completely rigid staring in our direction. He had a look on his face that I fervently wished was jealousy. _In your dreams,_ I scoffed at myself. _There's no way any of that could be about you, and there's no way under the sun that he would share any of the ridiculous feelings that you have for him. _

Focusing on those issues, I made it through the rest of the song with Jacob without getting too irritated at my constant need to push away his groping hands. I preferred dancing with Edward much more, I admitted to myself. Extricating myself from his hold, I took my leave. "I'll see you later about that Bio project, alright partner?"

"Right," he returned, his eyes dark with some unreadable emotion. "See you later."

About to escape the dance floor once again, I was confronted by yet another testosterone riddled member of the human race. "Hey Bella," Mike said a bit breathlessly. "Would you, um, dance the next one with me?"

I didn't have the strength to refuse the loyal retriever-like hopefulness in his eyes. "Sure," I sighed. "One more, then I am going to go sit, okay?" That was more than okay with him, judging from his joyful face. I made an about face back to the dance floor and was careful to dance across from him, not in front, just in case it turned into another feel-up session like Jake's. Trying to make conversation, I asked where Jess was. I'd seen them come in together, but I'd been aware of Jessica's ecstatic state since Mike had asked her the day I'd told him to.

"Oh, she's around here somewhere," he told me, but I could tell that his thoughts weren't wandering much farther than me right now. It was awkward.

"I'm glad you asked her, Mike," I said sincerely. "And I think she'd really appreciate it if you didn't abandon her very often to go dance with girls who aren't your date."

"Speaking of dates, I thought you told me you were just coming here with friends," Mike accused. A slightly hurt look appeared on his face.

"I did," I told him. "I was only planning on coming with Alice and Rosalie." I could still read the skepticism in his eyes, so I tried to explain the reason for Edward's presence. "Alice just got her plans mixed up and so Edward and I had to come together."

He didn't look quite convinced, but behaved well for the remainder of the song as we tried to make small talk. "Thanks Mike, for asking me to dance. Now go find your date and have fun!" I ordered him, and with one final longing look at me, he began weaving through the crowd to find Jess. Relieved to find myself alone again, I ducked through the students to get back to the safety of our table.

Edward was still sitting there, along with the others. His expression was composed, although I thought I could see stiffness in his posture. "Quite the popular dance partner, aren't we?" he asked, his voice slightly scathing.

I decided to ignore his inexplicable negative attitude and said, "It must be all of my impressive skill and grace." Everyone else laughed as I made fun of myself, and Edward even cracked a smile. I couldn't let him know that the only arms I wanted to be in were his; I could care less if anyone else wanted to dance with me. Thankfully, after a little while of joking and relaxing at the table, we all hit the dance floor again.

The Fall Formal was over far too quickly. I surprised myself with the knowledge that I'd actually had a good time, and I had to admit that most of that was because of Edward. As we left out the front door into the evening dimness along with the rest of the students, I wished it could have gone on forever. Catching my dangerous train of thought, I shuddered to imagine what Edward would think if he could read my mind. However, he interpreted the shiver as something totally different. "Are you cold?" he asked, concern softening his face. Before I could deny it, he slipped his suit jacket over my shoulders. "Maybe that will help."

Inhaling his intoxicating scent certainly did not help my sanity as I struggled to reorder my scattered thoughts. I pulled the jacket tighter around myself, though not from cold, when I settled into the passenger seat of his car through the door he held for me. Everything in my world was perfect; Edward's glorious smell chased away every care I had.

He turned the key and the Volvo started with a low purr as we began the drive back to Thomas Academy. "So," he began uncertainly, "Did you have a good time?"

His face looked so unsure I couldn't decide if I wanted to laugh or reach out to stroke his cheek. Laughing seemed like the safer option at this point: I let an astonished giggle escape. Who could possibly have anything less than a good time with this amazing person? The fact that he didn't realize his own dazzling capabilities was even more endearing. "I had a wonderful evening, Edward," I answered truthfully. "It was far better than I had ever thought it would be."

He relaxed at my words and a smirk played at his lips. "Yeah, I knew my awesome dance skills would win you over eventually," he said in a cocky tone.

This just made me laugh more, though a tinge of pink stained my cheeks as I remembered the sensation of dancing with him. Playing along with him, I kept things on the light side. "You're not too bad, but what really made tonight great was that punch. It was so good," I gushed.

"You know why it was so good?" He kept up the silly exchange. "I spiked it with a little of my own special something, just to give it an extra kick."

"That would explain it…" I trailed off with a mock serious expression. He laughed and as we flew along back to the Academy, the atmosphere in the car was natural and fun. I made up my mind that it was better for me to enjoy myself talking to him instead of watching the speedometer. After all, if these were my last moments alive, would I rather be nagging him for his speed or hearing about the time he'd framed Emmett for ruining one of Alice's favorite shirts in the laundry and the resulting excitement?

Time passed too quickly once again and we had pulled into Thomas's parking lot before I knew it. The perfect gentleman all night, Edward once again had my door open before I even touched the handle. Walking me back to Medsen Hall, he suggested, "I bet Alice and Rose would be up for hanging out a while tonight, if you feel up for it."

Glancing up into his topaz eyes, all my previous scheduled events were briefly forgotten and I wanted nothing more than to stay close to him. I had to break eye contact when I hit a small crack in the sidewalk and stumbled before his hands were there to steady me. Able to think more clearly when not staring into those hypnotizing pools of gold set in the face of a god, suddenly the bonfire came back to me. "Sorry, but I already have something going on tonight," I told him regretfully.

"Not something you could skip, I suppose?" He asked, and I was sure it was my imagination inserting more hope in his tone than there actually was.

I tried to convince myself that missing out on Jess and Lauren's plans wouldn't be so bad—that they'd forgive me eventually—but couldn't shake the knowledge that any friendship we'd had was now probably in the danger zone. I had to do what I could to try and restore the peace. Sighing with disappointment, I said, "No, I think it will be important for me to go."

By this time we had reached the front door of the girls' hall and our feet had come to a stop. "I guess this is good night, then," Edward said. "Thanks for being such a good sport about Alice's little schemes."

"The same goes for you," I said. "And let me just say one more time how sorry I am about the misunderstanding with Laur—" His fingers brushing my lips cut off my apology.

"Not your fault," he maintained tenderly. "I can't tell you exactly how glad I am that it's all cleared up now." I found no words to reply as his fingers trailed gently across my cheekbone before dropping back to his side. "Be safe tonight," he commanded, "and I hope you sleep well. See you on Monday."

And with that, Edward turned and walked back through the darkness toward his own hall. I managed to get out a faint, "You too. See you then," before dazedly entering the building and returning to my room.

I had completely forgotten I still had Edward's jacket until I met Lauren's hostile eyes upon walking into the apartment. "Did you need a new winter coat, Arizona girl?" she asked facetiously.

"Oops," was all I could think of to say and I reluctantly slipped it off and laid it over the back of my chair in my room. I hoped it wouldn't be too awkward returning it.

As I entered the main room again, Jessica appeared from her room and greeted me energetically. "Are you all ready for the bonfire tonight, Bella?" she wanted to know. "Lauren and I just changed, so we'll wait for you then we'll all head out together. It's going to be so much fun…" she prattled on without giving me a chance to respond and I watched anxiously as the resentment in Lauren's eyes changed to the bright cheer that was in Jessica's. It did not look genuine at all, but it seemed like a step in the right direction.

I cut into her stream of words and said, "Let me go get some warmer clothes on and then we can go, okay?" She nodded agreeably and turned to chat with Lauren when I turned back into my room. Pulling on jeans and a long sleeved shirt after carefully hanging up my dress, I tried to push away the odd feeling I had about this. Something didn't feel quite right in this situation, but I couldn't pick out what it was. Oh well, I was probably so caught up in Edward right now that nothing felt the same. My entire world felt different. Exiting my room once more holding a jacket of my own, I said, "Let's go!"

* * *

Jessica's POV

Once we set out for the bonfire, I began to relax just as my conscience started pricking me harder. _Bella deserves what's coming to her_, I thought to myself. _She's brought this upon herself. _After the rough night I'd already been through, I was so relieved to finally be on our way toward Lauren's big plot. Maybe then she would relax and be bearable once more.

Honestly, tonight had been awful, all except for the part that Mike had paid a little more attention to me that usual. I wished he would keep that up on normal days, too. We had a great time; at least, I know I did. But then Lauren had to rain on my parade. She'd told me that she'd heard from someone else that Mike had asked Bella to the Fall Formal—_twice_—before he'd asked me.

And then he'd gone and asked the vixen to dance with him. Instead of turning him down like a good friend would have done for my sake, Bella danced with him. I was pretty sure I turned green with envy. It was so obvious who Mike preferred, and I knew I needed to do something about that preference.

Lauren's scheme seemed like the perfect set up. A few witnesses, some well planned conversation points, and the competition would be taken out completely. Maybe then I'd never have to deal with another situation where Lauren was quite so irate. She was the one who had made my potentially fabulous evening with Mike unbearable with her constant jealous stares toward Edward Cullen and Bella moving together on the dance floor. I could almost fully understand her problem; Bella was stealing away Mike too. Which was why I was thrilled that the night of the bonfire was finally here. Perhaps once everything was "taken care of," as Lauren liked to put it, I would have Mike all to myself and Lauren could start making her moves on Edward. Our plot should socially incapacitate her for the rest of the school year.

Picking our way through the dark trees toward the lake took some time, especially since Bella was so clumsy. We had to take it really slowly. I'd warned Lauren to try and pull herself together while Bella was changing; her animosity was so apparent by this time Bella was going to guess that something was wrong if we didn't fake a little better. Eventually, we broke through the trees to a blazing bonfire and I anxiously searched the animated faces sitting around it. Our usual crowd was here, along with a few others, but the one I was looking for was no where to be seen.

At that moment, Jacob Black came through the forest to my right, asking, "Did I miss anything exciting yet? Like the food?"

Girls tittered at his words, but he didn't seem to hear as his eyes locked on Bella. I could feel his less than honorable intentions in his eyes, but maybe it was just my guilty conscience. Jake walked over and with a short exchange of words, brought Bella to sit next to him next to the fire. Though their conversation looked innocent enough, I had a twinge of remorse at what I knew would happen. Fighting it back, I chanted to myself, _Mike will be all mine soon. She'll be taken care of and he'll be all mine._

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**Ah, the evil inner workings of a jealous female's mind... Lauren and Jess are definitely not playing nicely. Review if you would, please!**


	9. Disaster

**I am so so so so sorry! It's taken me _forever_ to get this up and I apologize sincerely. It just took a lot of rewriting and honestly, I'm still not completely happy with it. But after Breaking Dawn, I simply could not pretend to hate on Jacob the way I once could... which meant I had to change this scene. He's still bad, but it's not as awful as it was going to be, and Jess and Lauren are the main culprits now. But I knew you guys had been waiting for an update for a long time, so here it is. I stayed up hours and hours for you!**

**More bad news: I'll be heading back to school in the next week and a half, so I'm going to be busy packing back up. But I swear I'll get the next chapter out and resolve this particular mess before I go and can't write for a little while!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters; the great Stephenie Meyer possesses their wonderfulness!**

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I heaved a sigh of relief when the light of the bonfire became visible through the trees. The path that we'd taken to get there in the forest had been unfamiliar to me; in fact, I hadn't even been past the big lawn before. Stumbling over the many roots, rocks, and shrubbery cloaked in darkness had not been pleasant and many times on our way I questioned the sanity of this choice. Why in the world was I out here in the dark woods with two girls I was pretty sure didn't like me on my way to hang out with… I didn't even know who was going to be there… when I could have been with Edward and my other friends? I must be out of my mind.

But once I saw the fire glowing ahead of us, I knew there was no turning back now. Hopefully tonight would be a good roommate bonding experience for Jess, Lauren, and me. Heaven knew we needed it after the Fall Formal. Lauren hardly looked at me and Jess didn't meet my eyes much either; they were both acting strangely.

Stepping through the trees into the warm circle of light, I scanned the illuminated faces. No one I wouldn't have expected to be here was. All the girls from our usual dining hall table were sitting around the fire, looking up to greet us as we appeared. Their hair was still styled and makeup was on from Fall Formal, just as I realized mine was. There were several guys, also, who sometimes joined our table, including Mike Newton. His eyes lit up when he saw me and I scrambled to come up with an excuse to avoid him so he and Jess could sit together.

My answer came in the form of Jacob Black stepping through the brush just behind us, saying, "Did I miss anything exciting yet? Like the food?" I was surprised to see him there; he wasn't a regular in Jess and Lauren's little posse. But maybe a new face could help me shift Mike's misdirected retriever tendencies to Jessica. It was a weird feeling, but I was grateful when Jake locked eyes with me and walked my direction. I never thought I'd see the day, but was actually eager to tell him, "Yes," when he asked, "Do you wanna go warm up by the fire?"

Directing a brief smile at Mike, who looked ridiculously crushed and outraged at the same time, I followed Jake over to a vacant log around the fire. Jess took her opportunity and slid in right next to Mike, trying to engage him in conversation. Lauren had several options to choose from as friends and admirers alike vied to sit by her. She finally settled on a spot between Madeline and a guy named Tyler who had been hanging around us for a while now.

Much to Jacob's satisfaction, someone had brought food after all. He grabbed a plate full of chips and salsa and insisted I try some. I turned down his offer a few times before giving in to his persistence. Finally after one too many: "Aw, come on, Bella! They're so good!" I popped one into my mouth. He seemed pleased with that and didn't push me to eat any more. I just wasn't that hungry after the snacks at Fall Formal.

Or maybe my mind was just too full of Edward to register anything else. Though everyone chatted around me and Jake tried to pull me into the lively conversation, I kept spacing off thinking of Edward. His smell, his low chuckle, his eyes, the way his hands felt when he held me dancing, his attentive manner… too often I found myself staring into the fire wishing I had been selfish and skipped the bonfire after all. What had I been thinking? I could have extended our amazing night by a few more hours.

In my own little world of flickering firelight and Edward's perfection, I was startled by an elbow in my side and jumped about a foot. I wasn't even close to falling off the log—okay, so maybe I was—but that certainly didn't warrant Jacob's arm sliding around my waist. "Whoa, careful there," he teased, his eyes gleaming in the reflection of the dancing flames. "Are you still with us? I didn't think I was _that_ boring."

I blushed; how rude I must seem. "Sorry," I apologized, "I'm just a little distracted, I guess."

Jake's smile widened, flashing his pearly whites. "I've got the perfect cure for distraction… Come with me." He stood to his feet, grabbing my hand and pulling me up next to him towards the dark tree-lined trail.

_What was he thinking? That I'm just going to go make out with him or something?!_ I resisted, taking my hand out of his. "Uh, I think I'll be fine," I reassured him stiffly. I turned back to go to my seat around the fire with everyone else.

"So you're not worried about our Bio project anymore, huh?" His self-satisfied voice followed me.

"Oh." I had completely forgotten about it and now I felt silly for thinking Jake had anything else in mind. "Right, we need to get that done!" Then I faced him doubtfully, gesturing at the shadowed trees. "But we can't do it now; it's too dark."

"I'm always ready for anything," he told me, looking very pleased with himself as he pulled a flashlight and a bag from his jacket pockets, along with the plant list from class.

There was no way to argue; we had what we needed and the project was due Monday. "Well, let's get going then," I gave in, and looked back to tell the others where we were going. "Jake and I are just going out in the woods a ways to get those plants for the Bio project," I explained.

"Mmhmm," Lauren said, smirking. "You two have fun then. Behave yourselves!" Wow, that sounded bad. _You two. Behave yourselves_. Like we were going off to get down and dirty on our own. Right. I was about to correct her when Jake responded.

"No worries. We shouldn't be gone _too_ long," Jake said. It was difficult to tell in the dim, unsteady light, but I thought I saw him raise his eyebrows a bit suggestively at everyone. Lauren looked strangely triumphant and Jess grinned like the cat that ate the canary. The others just smirked knowingly. On our way to the edge of the trees, I caught my foot on some underbrush and Jake reached out to steady me. He kept his hold on me as we disappeared into the darkness of the trail and I could have sworn I heard snickering behind us.

However, of more immediate importance than worrying about everyone else's ridiculous reactions was the Biology task at hand. Jake switched on his flashlight and we started scanning the bushes and brush for the correct plants. I soon realized that I did more good in trying not to trip and holding the bag open while Jacob found the plants we needed; he could recognize everything on the list. We wandered through the dark trees guided by the beam from his flashlight until the trail suddenly opened onto a lakeshore. Jake strode forward across the sand and lifted a dripping clump from the edge of the water. "Got it," he proclaimed. "Here's the sea lace algae and that should be the last one on the list." He sealed it in a plastic bag and dropped it into my sack with the rest of the specimens.

"Good job, Jake," I said appreciatively. "I'm so glad we finally got all of the plants. Since you found them tonight, I'll put it together tomorrow. Thanks so much for your help." I turned to follow the path back to the bonfire, but had to stop when the flashlight wasn't illuminating my way. In fact, it didn't even look like it was on anymore. "What's going on…" I started to ask, spinning around in confusion. A warm body right behind me froze my turn and arms reached out to grasp my waist.

"You want to show me exactly how thankful you are?" His voice was low and made the pit of my stomach twist. Hands holding me tight against him, there was no way I could simply slip away casually, so I knew I had to go with the direct approach.

"Jake, I'm not sure where you got this idea, but I'm not interested in you like that," I stated clearly. "Now please let me go so we can get back." His lips tightened into a hard line at my words and his face drew closer to mine.

"You and I both know you don't mean that," he said, getting nearer still. Frightened at his sudden advance that I could not seem to stop, I tried to wrest myself from his grip. His arms were too strong, however, and I couldn't escape from his descending mouth. Quickly wrenching my head to the side, his kiss only hit the side of my face instead of my lips. I shoved him hard and he staggered back.

"Don't you dare touch me like that again," I hissed. His eyes went wide with shock for a moment before narrowing into slits.

"Did you just reject me?" He questioned incredulously. That expression was quickly replaced with fury. He came at me again, not bothering to be gentle in his pursuit. I stumbled backwards on the sand in the dark, and suddenly found myself falling in a heap on the ground, Jake on top of me. "I'll show you exactly what a bad idea that was, Bella. No one rejects Jacob Black."

Once again his lips came toward me and I frantically reviewed the self-defense techniques I had learned long ago. Just as I was about to give him a quick knee-punch combination, a bright light shone into my eyes, blinding me. "Well what do we have here?" I heard Lauren's voice proclaim gleefully. "Didn't I tell you two to behave yourselves? Bella, I'm surprised at you…"

"Aww, come on guys, we were just getting to the good part," Jake complained and I slowly began to become aware of the group behind Lauren's flashlight. Their whispers and giggles made me realize the awkward position I was in, lying underneath Jake with his face so near to mine. My face turned tomato red.

Scrambling quickly from beneath him, I dusted the sand off of me. It was difficult to tell behind the bright flashlights they held, but it certainly looked like every single person from the bonfire had just witnessed that embarrassing little scene. I gave them a lame excuse for falling into the sand and Jake was just going to help me up. More snickers erupted at that and now Jessica's voice commented in a sickly sweet tone: "Oh, well we're so sorry to interrupt. Everyone knows exactly how Jake was 'helping' you up, and none of us need to see that."

"Why don't you all keep moving then… Bella and I have unfinished business to attend to," and even I could hear the meaningful leer in Jacob's words.

"Right, right, so sorry," Lauren's apology was the farthest thing from sincerity I could imagine, and she didn't even bother to hide the scathing insinuation in her parting remark: "But don't stay out too late, Bella. We don't want you too worn out tomorrow. Let's go everyone; this is obviously not a public show." More laughter.

And with that, everyone disappeared back into the trees. "What was that!" I accused Jacob angrily. "You know nothing happened, but you make it sound like we're doing unspeakably dirty stuff out here."

"Who's to say we're not going to do any of that?" he answered back and once again pulled me toward him roughly.

"I say so," I growled through gritted teeth. With all my strength, I swung my fist as hard as I could and hit him in the jaw. He immediately dropped his hands from me and yelled in a little pain, but probably mostly surprise. Though my hand was throbbing now, I took advantage of his momentary incapacitation and lit out for the woods.

The anger that had filled my head ebbed quickly as I realized the mess I was in as soon as I dashed into the trees. Without a light or knowledge of these woods, combined with my already crippling clumsiness, I knew trying to outrun Jake was a bad plan. Sure enough, I'd only gone a few meters when I heard a sound of pursuit. "Bella, wait!" his voice called out. "I'll be good, I promise." _Yeah right,_ I thought. As silently as I could manage, I ducked down between a big bush and a tree, trying to stifle my breathing. My heart began to slow as he moved right past me farther into the woods calling my name.

Once I couldn't hear his voice anymore, my tense muscles began to loosen from their frozen position. I struck out in the direction he had gone, hoping it would lead me back to the school. Thankfully, we had taken a faint path out to the lakeshore, so in the dim starlight I tried following it. I took things very slowly in the darkness; I didn't want to lose the trail, although if I got lost out here that would mean I would never have to face Jake again. Tempting thought.

Though I'd known he was a player, it had never even crossed my mind that Jake would force himself on me. I cursed my naivety for putting myself in that position. I refused to think about any other part of the situation than my own stupidity, berating myself for not thinking. The irritation I felt kept my tired body moving, but I was about done in by the time I noticed the trees thinning out and I reached the back lawn of the Academy.

Practically stumbling with exhaustion, I was relieved to find the lights off in my dorm apartment. I was too tired to try and explain anything to Lauren and Jess tonight. If it was still night by now. I glanced at my digital clock and felt another wave of fatigue wash over me when I read 1:43 AM. That hike must have taken me at least an hour. It was all I could do to kick my shoes off at the side of my bed and strip off my jeans. Flopping down on top of the sheet, my eyes closed immediately.

While I fell asleep almost right away, my night's sleep was not restful at all. Several times I woke twisted in my sheets, heart pounding and eyes flung open wildly. Dreams of being chased through the dark woods and falling, always falling, just before my pursuer was about to catch me wore me out, until my body completely shut down.

The next time I opened my eyes, daylight was pouring through my window. As my head began to clear, the previous night came rushing back to me. Everything I'd tried to block and not think about as I trekked my way out of the forest in the dark I now remembered with perfect clarity. Looking down, I saw I was still wearing the same shirt I'd had on at the bonfire and I could feel gritty sand grains and dirt marks on my skin. A feeling close to nausea came over me as I remembered how those had gotten there.

Feeling sick to my stomach, I climbed out of bed and slipped into the bathroom. I was in the shower for what felt like an hour, trying to let the hot water relax my twisted gut and thoughts. But no amount of hot water or soap could wash away the dirty feeling that came not from grimy skin, but instead from the memory of Jacob's mouth on my face and body on top of mine. The scene was reflected back ten times worse through everyone else's eyes, I was sure.

Finally resigned to the fact that a shower couldn't fix the problem, I dried off and dragged on a t-shirt and jeans. The apartment was very quiet and I sat alone in my room, wondering what to do now. Sunday was going to be long and boring if I couldn't come up with anything. I couldn't seem to stop the memory I wished I could forget from replaying over and over in my head. Then it hit me—the reason we had been out there in the first place: the Biology project! It was due tomorrow and I didn't have any of the stuff to finish it. My stomach plunged when I realized that either Jake had the bag of specimens, or it had been left on the lakeshore last night. There was no way I was going to get anywhere near Jacob Black after last night, so I tied on a pair of tennis shoes and left to retrace my recent path through the trees.

From the moment I walked from the lawn into the woods, my nightmares flooded my mind. Every snap of a twig, every rustle of a leaf caused me to jump and glance around fearfully, as though Jake was going to leap out in front of me or something. Miraculously, I actually made my way back to the lakeshore. Daylight was extremely helpful in navigating the trees this time around.

Upon reaching the spot where it had happened, the sight of the disturbed sand almost made me lose it. Fighting back the queasiness and filth that assaulted me anew, I focused on scanning the ground for the bag. Sure enough, it was lying haphazardly where I had dropped it previously. I snatched it up and fled the scene. The whole way back to the main grounds of Thomas Academy and the safety of my room, I tried to reason through the situation logically.

Fact one: Nothing truly compromising had happened between Jake and me. Seriously, he hadn't even kissed my mouth, let alone get any farther than that. Fact two: Lauren and everyone else hadn't happened upon us doing anything, we were only in a bad position. Fact three: none of this would be spread around because there was nothing to spread. Jake had nothing to brag about, except hopefully a bruise on his jaw. And Lauren and Jess didn't have any real dirt; all they'd seen was Jacob fallen on top of me. So I wanted to let myself hope that this wouldn't be spread around to sound too bad.

I felt a bit more reassured after coming to that hope. For the rest of the day, I stayed shut in my room working on the Bio project. In the afternoon, I could finally hear Jessica and Lauren get up and start moving around. Too chicken to face them, I kept working, putting the plants into the display and labeling each classification. With nothing else to do, I took my time on the project and before I knew it, the light outside had faded. At the same time I realized that most of the day had passed, my stomach growled. Loudly.

I'd been too caught up in the project to remember to eat, and now I was starving. Cracking my door open and poking my head into the main room, I saw a whole group of girls lying on the floor and lounging on the couch watching a movie. They all looked up when I walked out of my room and I saw many of them exchange knowing glances.

"Bella," Lauren feigned surprise. "We didn't know you were here."

I rolled my eyes, irritated. I knew that she would have heard me moving around in my room all afternoon. "Where else would I be, Lauren?"

At that question, snickers filled the room and Jessica raised her eyebrows suggestively. "Oh, I think we all have an idea about that."

Blood rushed to my cheeks and quickly I backed toward the door. "Well, I was here all day. And now I need to go get something to eat." Escaping quickly from the room, I trudged to the vending machine at the end of the hall. After that confrontation, my appetite had all but disappeared but I bought a couple of granola bars just to keep my strength up. Suddenly, I knew I was going to need it.

Reluctantly I returned to my apartment and headed straight for my room. Lauren asked if I wanted to join them to watch the movie, but I excused myself, saying I was tired. That earned another round of giggles and significant looks, with a girl whose name I didn't even know saying, "And we know why."

By the time I had shut my door, I couldn't hold back the angry tears pricking at my eyes. I shrank to the floor and laid my face in my arms, letting the hot, salty drops run down my face. Things were not going to be okay after all. It looked like Lauren and Jess had already been busy telling people what they'd seen last night and drawn the exact conclusions I had feared. Life was going to be hell for a while until I could convince everyone of the truth. Jake was the only other person who knew what had really happened; surely he would help set people straight. I had to count on that.

Realizing I was effectively trapped in my room by the girls sitting outside my door, I decided to go to bed early. After all, I hadn't slept well the night before. A little extra sleep never hurt anyone. Changing into a pair of shorts and a tank top, I crawled into bed and closed my eyes. But my brain refused to shut down, instead spinning in frustrating circles as I worried about facing the Academy tomorrow. I tried to encourage myself, saying, "Live out the truth and be yourself, that's all anyone can ask of you."

Yet that brought on a whole new round of pain as I remembered the origin of that familiar phrase. Charlie. Whenever I felt discouraged or worried about things, my dad would tell me those exact words, followed by an "I love you." I could always count on Charlie to be there when I needed someone, but he was here no longer. The tears came on full force then when I realized that I hadn't even thought about Charlie all week. I was a terrible daughter and there was nothing I feared like forgetting him.

The crying stopped eventually, but I was still left restless. Sleep would not come, warded off by alternating feelings of guilt, dirtiness, and pain. As I tossed and turned, my eyes roamed the room searching for familiarity and comfort. Things were still too new here and nothing reassured me. Then my gaze fell on a shadowed form draped over my desk chair. Straining in the dim light, with a shock I recognized Edward's suit jacket.

Edward. Now those were memories I wanted to hold on to, and I slipped out of bed to the jacket, lifting it up to my face. His intoxicating smell surrounded me and blocked out all my worries. Knowing it would get wrinkled and I would have to dry clean it before I gave it back, I still carried it back to bed with me. Curling up and holding Edward's suit jacket tightly to me, my mind finally gave me peace. His scent wrapped around me and I felt so safe and untroubled. The last conscious thought I had before drifting off to sleep was _I wonder if things will be different between Edward and I after the Fall Formal. _Nothing could have prepared me for exactly how different.

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Mike's POV

I was shocked, mostly. Sure there was disappointment and maybe even a little anger, but most of all I was floored by how wrong I'd been about Bella.

From the minute I met her, I'd liked her. She was pretty, nice, smart, friendly… she seemed like the all-around perfect girl to me. For the past two weeks I'd been trying my best to make her like me back, but I hadn't seemed to get very far. She'd accepted none of my flirtation or advances. Up until now, I'd been disappointed by that, but now I was so glad she hadn't. Because now everyone knew what Bella was really like.

Walking through the halls toward my first class, I caught snippets of conversations going on around me and recognized the subject. Bella was definitely the current hot topic and rumors were running rampant. I would find them hard to believe, except that I had seen her on Saturday night.

After she and Jacob had left the bonfire, it wasn't long before Lauren decided that a midnight stroll would be fun. She'd dragged everyone along, saying she wanted to go see the lake. A couple of other girls had suggested going to the abandoned shack down the other path, but Lauren insisted on the lake and Jessica backed her up. So we went. Breaking through the edge of trees and seeing Lauren's flashlight beam shining on Jacob and Bella lying together in the sand made my throat constrict.

What?! I never would have guessed she was that kind of girl. Everyone knew about Jake, how all he wanted from a girl was to get her in bed. And there was Bella, blushing at being caught in the middle of kissing him. As my mind struggled to make sense of this, the previous part of the evening came to mind. She had told me that she was going to Fall Formal with friends, and then showed up with Edward Cullen, of all people.

Things were falling into place and it sickened me. I never imagined that Bella had such loose standards, but how else could you explain her being with two guys in one night. I didn't think anyone missed how close she and Edward were dancing; it was like they were in their own little world. Then she goes straight from that to making out and everyone knows what else with Jacob Black only a few hours later!

He had come back to the bonfire a while later with his jacket crooked and his shirt buttoned wrong, all too eager to share exactly how into him Bella was. She hadn't been at the breakfast table that morning, and Jessica and Lauren had mentioned how late she had come back on Saturday night and that she was tired again on Sunday. They had the same speculations on why as everyone else, and since they were her roommates, we all figured that they would know better than anyone.

I was disgusted with myself for liking her. I'd made a huge mistake about Bella and I was just glad that I'd found out the "bad girl" she really was before I got mixed up with her. I couldn't help but feel a little sorry for her now that all of Thomas Academy had heard about it, and I knew some of the guys would start making moves on her now they knew she was easy.

Sitting down for History first hour, I willed time to move slower. Fourth hour I had Spanish with her and I still didn't know how I was going to look her in the eye.

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**Oh dear... things aren't going to be pretty for a while for our poor little Bella. Nasty Lauren and Jess have really messed her up. And imagine-- if Mike feels this way about Bella, how is Edward going to take it, since his feelings for her are like a million times stronger? **

**Sorry to leave you on this depressing note, but I promise things will turn around really soon! If you need to express your anger through a review, go for it... encouraging comments are also welcome. )**


	10. The Rescue

**All I have to say is that I'm so sorry this took forever-- a whole week longer than I'd promised! No excuses but stupid ones like busy-ness and the like. But this chapter is the longest one yet, and it does come to some sort of resolution. Hope you feel a little more settled after this one because I stayed up way too late finishing it tonight before I drive across the country to go back to school... I'll update as soon as I can when I get settled in again!**

**Disclaimer-- Stephenie Meyer owns all!**

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Monday morning had dawned bright and clear. Reflecting now, those few moments at the beginning of today were probably going to be the best by far. I had uncurled my limbs, still heavy with sleep, and stretched in the rays of sunlight pouring through my window. Pressing my face into my unusually wonderfully smelling pillow, I breathed in the heady scent of—Edward? I started and realized that my "pillow" was actually Edward's suit jacket, which I then remembered clutching to me last night as though my sanity depended upon it. And when the events of the past weekend had begun to resurface, I wanted to bury my head in his intoxicating smell and forget about everything else.

But unless I wanted to flunk out or starve myself, I knew I would have to come out and face Thomas Academy eventually. I might as well do it today. Who knew? Maybe it wouldn't be as bad as I was dreading. Maybe I had just overestimated the number of people who had heard about my incident with Jacob… after all, it was over the weekend and surely there hadn't been much opportunity for it to spread. So, hanging on to that scrap of hope, I had gotten up and gotten ready for my Monday.

My first clue that things were not going to be the same was the non-appearance of Jessica at my door, asking if I was ready to go to breakfast with her and Lauren. That invitation had not failed to come each morning and its absence seemed to be a very bad sign of things to come. After the many obvious stares and snide whispers I noticed on my way to first period, I began to realize that my fears were not ungrounded after all. Everyone seemed to have heard one version or another of Jake and the new girl getting down and dirty on Saturday night.

Now sitting in Calculus across the aisle from Jessica, who completely ignored me aside from the pointed looks she shot my way when in conversation with everyone else, I was experiencing a faint sense of déjà vu. Guys surrounding my seat leaned in, just like the first day of school. But instead of friendly introductions, an undercurrent of a lewd and suggestive nature colored their comments.

"Hey Bella, heard you were staying busy with Jake this Saturday. Got any openings tonight?"

"I've got this project I could really use your help with… and story goes you're pretty good at Anatomy."

Wide-eyed with shock at their rude behavior, I shot a glance at Jessica. I could have sworn I saw her grinning out of the corner of my eye and she made no move to extricate me from the situation. I could not understand why, but she clearly didn't oppose this happening. I was on my own. I turned back to face the idiots who had dared make such vulgar comments and with a voice as threatening as I could manage, I snapped, "Back off and leave me alone."

Even that failed to deter them completely; they turned back to face the front of the room slowly and a few had the audacity to wink. The last one bent towards me and whispered, "Looks like you're having a rough day. Just remember that I could make it all better for you…" trailing off significantly. I gave him a stare I hoped froze his vile imagination off and ignored everyone for the rest of class.

But as soon as the bell rang, I remembered what class I had next. I almost let my glacial pretense slip in the panic that knotted my stomach; had Edward heard the stories as well? My steps dragged through the hall and my trepidation was so great that I barely noticed the stares I passed. Surely Edward wouldn't believe such a ridiculous story about me. After all of Saturday night finally getting to know each other, wouldn't he immediately dismiss these outrageous rumors? My unwilling feet compelled me into British Literature and when my eyes slowly rose to meet his golden gaze, I had my answer.

All color faded from the world and my heart thudded to a stop; his beautiful eyes held nothing but disgust and contempt, with perhaps a bit of hurt lurking behind it all. It could not be like this, I had to fix things and make him see. Hurriedly making my way to his seat, I pleaded, "Edward, don't believe anything—"

"--Anything you hear. Yeah, I found that out already, Bella." His voice was flat and derisive.

"It's not true. Whatever you heard, I swear it isn't true!" My beseeching sincerity sounded so weak when opposed to his hard stare, but I had to try. He was the only person I needed to believe me, but his certainty was unbreakable.

"I know it's not. Everything I thought you were wasn't true. First you act one way, then you tell me you're someone else, and now I hear what you are really like. So don't play with me anymore. You can keep Jake," his lips curled back in disdain, "you two deserve each other."

Blood drained from my face as his words hit me like a slap. Somehow I stumbled to a seat far in the back of the room and fought back the hot, angry tears that pricked my eyelids. Hopelessness weighed heavily on me and I trudged out of the room as soon as class was over. My subconscious directed my steps toward World History and I slunk into a desk, not caring about anything. Edward didn't believe me.

"Bella! Earth to Bella! We need to talk…" a bright voice tried to break through the fog of despair that surrounded me. Vaguely I recognized Alice in front of me, and wondered why she could possibly be beaming as she wanted the details of Saturday night. Her next words surprised me: "It's about Edward."

Oh no. I was certain that I would not be able to handle a discussion on her perfect brother's reception of the erroneous stories going around about me without totally falling apart. "Alice, I can't talk about him right—"

I was cut off by a heavy arm sliding across my shoulders and a sickeningly syrupy voice in my ear. "Hey Bella, just wanted to let you know that my bed is a lot more comfortable than the lakeshore sand. Come and try it out anytime."

I pulled away violently from the revolting touch of yet another guy and he just chuckled and walked off. Shuddering in disgust and despair, I lifted my head to meet Alice's eyes once again. I was amazed to see her face filled with incredulous fury. "What is that scum ball thinking?" she exploded, staring after him in rage. Had she not heard any of the stories? Hope suddenly flared up within me at the possibility that I could convince someone of the truth. Maybe because she and Rose weren't close to Jess and Lauren, they hadn't heard the broadcast that had wrecked my reputation in a matter of days.

"Alice, we need to talk," I said, repeating her previous words. "I'm sure you'll hear stories about me today, but you can't believe them. I promise I'll tell you everything tonight." She nodded in agreement, her brow still furrowed in anger, now joined with concern.

Spanish was awkward, with Jessica continuing her ignorance of my existence and Mike's uncomfortable and ill-disguised attempts at distancing himself from me without making it too obvious. However, it was painfully obvious to everyone but him. I had made up my mind long before lunch arrived that the dining hall was not an option today. Slipping in and out of the food lines with as much anonymity as I could manage, I escaped back to my apartment with a sandwich and an apple. There was no way I was eating in a room full of people discussing my fabled immorality. Besides, where would I even sit? My usual table was definitely out of the question, and no one else would want the object of the latest Academy scandal joining them now.

My brain was working overtime to figure out a way to prove my innocence. I had not yet seen Jake today, and maybe if both of us worked on it, we could start to set the Academy straight on what had really happened—nothing. I set off for Biology, determined to recruit Jacob to fix the lies that had put black marks on both of our records.

I hadn't counted on the extra steps I had put between me and the main building compared to the relative proximity of the dining hall, along with the cumbersome project. I found myself running, late to class once again. Carrying the completed Biology project with me, I dashed up the stairs and down the halls. The absence of people in the halls meant fewer ogling stares, but stepping into the open doorway of my class, I knew I would have braved the accusing eyes of all of Thomas Academy compared to the hell that awaited me.

The class was just barely beginning so every seat was taken but one. One vacant seat at a lab table next to Edward Cullen. Frantically scanning the room for another option, a bit of confusion registered when I saw Lauren and Jacob sitting together at a lab table. Mr. Banner's voice confirmed my realization: "Go ahead and set your project down up here, Bella, and take a seat next to Mr. Cullen. We're ready to start class." He must have noticed my hesitancy as I seemed to move in slow motion towards the empty chair. "We haven't got all day, Miss Swan. If you would have arrived to class on time, perhaps you may've had more options. Thank you; now everyone, you do recall that the person you are sitting next to now will be your permanent lab partner for the rest of the term."

I had slid deep into my seat upon reaching the table, Edward not sparing a glance at me, but at Mr. Banner's words, I watched us both stiffen at the same time. Vaguely I recalled the first day of school and only now remembered that announcement in his lecture. So unless I found some way out of this class or came up with a good enough excuse, I was going to be stuck with Adonis as a lab partner. What could have been heaven on earth was ruined by the fact that he hated me and undoubtedly wished he had a different partner.

It was just beginning to occur to me the extreme strangeness of this situation—why was Edward sitting here alone to begin with anyways?—when I heard my name a few tables away. Looking up when I recognized Jake's voice, I saw him talking to Lauren in an exaggerated stage whisper. Everyone was meant to hear his words: "I'm just relieved Bella had enough energy to finish that project. I figured she'd be pretty exhausted after all the fun she insisted on Saturday night…" My mouth dropped open slightly in horror and when he caught me watching him, he winked. "I like a girl who can multitask, you know, have multiple things going at one time." At that, Lauren snickered, as did many people around them. My glare and mouthed, "That's a lie," had no effect on any of them, especially Jake.

Mr. Banner turned at the disruption and called everyone to order before going back to his explanation of some plant slides on the video projector. After hearing Jacob's comment, I knew I was on my own. He was as much a part of the lies as everyone else, though why he would want to claim such an 'accomplishment' was beyond me. My heart sank as I realized my isolation.

Edward's tense posture never relaxed for the entire class and he didn't once look my way. Once the bell rang, he was out the door in an instant and I was left to deal with the continued ogles and remarks for the rest of the school day. My apartment was hardly a haven anymore, what with Jess and Lauren there, so I tried to focus on how I was going to convince Alice and Rosalie of the truth tonight.

I holed up in my room for the afternoon with no desire to leave my safe place. Eventually the dinner hour was over and I escaped from my room across the building to their apartment. I was sure by now that they had heard every dirty detail about my supposed sleeping around. That assumption was clearly correct when Rosalie opened their door immediately with an expression of such concern and doubt, with an equally anxious Alice behind her. They dragged my inside and shut the door, pulling me between them onto their couch. "Bella, what's going on?" Alice demanded. "I've heard such awful stuff today about you and Jake, and it better not be true."

"It isn't true at all. You have to believe me," I implored. Their faces remained open and curious, so I told them what had happened, Saturday night, every detail. By the time I was done, both Alice and Rosalie were livid. "So since all those people saw what looked like Jake and me getting it on, now everyone thinks that we did it and that I'm a whore," I summarized bleakly. I held my breath and waited for their skeptical reaction.

It never came. Rosalie swore under her breath and pulled me into a hug. Alice was in a rage, exclaiming, "Of all the malicious snakes, Lauren is the worst."

Rose growled into my hair and asked, "You do know why she's doing this don't you, Bella?" I shook my head in dejection, though feeling much better that my two best friends had no trouble accepting the truth.

"It has to do with what I wanted to talk to you about before," Alice said. "Edward." At the mention of his name, I flinched. The slight cringe didn't escape her quick eyes and she took my face in her hands so I would focus on what she said. "Think about it, Bella. If Lauren couldn't get him, then she didn't want anyone else to have him either. It's never been an issue before, since he's turned down every girl who's ever shown any interest in him at all. Then when you got here anyone with two eyes and half a brain could see how drawn he is to you." Alice's face darkened with anger. "So if he wouldn't take her, she had to make sure that he didn't want you either."

"Well, it definitely worked," I muttered. "He hates me now."

"That's just because he doesn't know the truth yet! Though why he'd believe something like this so unlike him…" Rosalie assured me. "So don't worry. We'll straighten him out and then you make your move."

"What?" My voice leaped an octave. "Make my move? What are you talking about?"

"Um, well here's the deal. Ever since you two were seen together at the Fall Formal, suddenly the girls of Thomas Academy let themselves hope that Edward's finally looking for a girl. According to Jasper, they've gotten a million calls on their room phone, a hundred anonymous love letters under their door, and even several personal visits 'just stopping by to say hi.' So you two need to get moving and get together before Edward's fan club reappears. And we all know how annoying that is." Alice rolled her eyes at some memory of infatuated girls I didn't even want to think about.

I couldn't deny the streak of jealousy that ran through me at her words, but as much as I wanted every other girl to stay away from him, I couldn't deny the fact that he didn't want me after all. "Alice, we're not going to get together. Even aside from these stupid rumors, he would never like me—" When I saw a mischievous grin start to show upon both of their faces, I tried to backtrack. "Besides, who says I even want to be with him?"

"Oh, just the way your eyes follow him around and your voice gets all shaky when he talks to you and you blush every time he touches you and…"

"Okay, okay." I cut off Alice's list before it got too embarrassing. "So maybe I kind of like him. Just kind of."

"Knew that already." Rose joked. "Now we just have to figure out Lauren's mess and then you two are home free!" I doubted it was going to be that easy and knew for a fact that even if he eventually believed that the rumors were lies, he couldn't possibly feel the same way about me that I did about him. Alice and Rose seemed confident of this, however, and I was just happy to be myself with my best friends, instead of having to defend my reputation. Before I left, they both asked if I was going to be okay, and I assured them that things would be fine. But they made me exchange cell phone numbers with them, "Just in case," and I had to promise to eat with them the next day. "If Edward has a problem with it, he can deal," Rose said in answer to my qualms.

After that reassuring conversation, I thought that sleep would come faster, but I was wrong. Tossing and turning, I finally gave up and pulled Edward's jacket back into bed with me. His smell overcame every worry I had and lulled me to sleep. If I wasn't careful, I was going to become as dependent on it as I was on its owner.

The next day was better and worse. It was better because I was a little more prepared for what I was going to have to handle. I'd already steeled myself for the stupid boys who made comments and had to threaten a few wayward hands that strayed toward a butt-grab a couple times. It was better because the shy girl in Gym actually talked to me; it was only a few words, but Angela's sympathetic smile and kind words gave me hope that perhaps there were others here who could guess at the lies behind the rumors. It was better because I did end up sitting with Alice and Rosalie for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And it was better because they had told Emmett and Jasper the whole thing too, and they had my back as well.

It was worse because after my conversation with Alice and Rosalie, now I was hyper aware of every flirtatious glance, word, or gesture girls made toward Edward. And Alice hadn't been kidding; it seemed like every single girl at Thomas was suddenly competing for him. My only consolation was that he didn't respond to any of them, as far as I could tell. It was worse because Edward didn't say a word to me in Biology or Brit Lit. And it was worse because after seeing me sitting with his siblings and friends at breakfast, Edward had turned and left the dining hall, not making a second appearance there for the rest of the day. I felt awful that I was forcing him away from them, but Alice, Rose, Emmett, and Jasper just rolled their eyes and assured me that, "He'll get over it." It didn't make me feel much better.

After dinner, Alice seemed particularly insistent that I come and hang out in their room that evening. Initially I turned her down, since I had a lot of homework to occupy myself with; no need to wear out their hospitality in only a few days. She just laughed at that excuse, saying that it hardly counted as hospitality when my other option was Lauren and Jessica. This was true, so I told her that I might drop by later once I got a good start on my work. This seemed to satisfy her and she flitted away, leaving me to face my rotten roommates and evening of homework alone.

I hadn't been lying to Alice; I did have a few assignments to get done, but it didn't take as long as I had assumed. Calculus went quicker than usual, and I finished a short essay for British Literature in no time. After only a little over an hour of studying, I was free for the night, so I sneaked unnoticed from my apartment and made my way over to the girls'.

Their door was shut, but I had been told many times that knocking was completely unnecessary so I turned the knob and stepped into their room. My eyes took a moment to adjust to the surprising darkness. Though momentarily confused, I saw the flat screen lit up and recognized scenes of _Batman Begins_ playing across the display. Multiple heads were silhouetted against the bright screen and I realized I'd interrupted movie night. Alice's delighted laugh greeted me and I heard Emmett's voice boom, "Well, look who finally showed up!" A second later, the lamp at the end table snapped on thanks to Rose and a soft light illuminated the room. Four smiling faces of my new lunch buddies were turned towards me and I walked closer to find a seat and tell them not to start the movie over. But I froze when I felt another set of eyes on me.

Heart sinking, I looked to find Edward, farthest from the lamp's light and slightly shadowed, staring at me. There was no welcome written in his perfect face, no "Hey, good to see you. Oh, and by the way, I was so wrong about you…" Instead, raging conflict was evident. Cold uncertainty, disgust, and defensiveness seemed to be the main contenders. Our gaze held for only a few seconds before I couldn't handle his hard scrutiny anymore. Like a five year old child, I fled from the room and down the hall, not stopping to see who belonged to the rapid footfalls chasing me from behind.

Bursting out the front door of the building into the star-filled night, I stared up at the sky. I wondered briefly how I had ever let my feelings for Edward become everything to me, to the point that one piercing stare from his distrustful eyes could cut me to my very heart. But these sappy reflections were quickly cut short by a set of arms enveloping me in a hug. "Bella, we're so sorry," Rose murmured, "We tried to tell him before you came tonight." I took in her words and understood the hopelessness of the situation. If Edward didn't believe them, he wasn't going to come around.

Soon Alice appeared in the darkness next to us. "Stupid, stubborn brother," she grumbled. "Too scared to admit the truth."

I stared wide-eyed at both of them. "Scared of what? Edward doesn't exactly strike me as a pansy."

"Bella, hear me out. So this afternoon and evening, the four of us cornered Edward and told him what really happened Saturday night. For a minute, I could see him start to believe the truth, then all of a sudden he shut down and the wall went up." My confused look must have alerted her to fact that I had no clue what wall she was talking about. "Edward doesn't open up to many people. And right now, he's freaking out because he likes you _so _much. Bella, I know you don't realize it, but he likes you so much he's scared. If your supposed reputation turned out to be true, he'd never forgive himself for falling this hard."

Her words sank in slowly, but even if Edward actually liked me, I saw no way to solve things. "Well, what am I supposed to do now?" I asked the girls.

"We will just have to keep trying and convince Edward, I guess," Rose sighed. "Do you want to talk about it, Bella? We could go back to the room now that Edward isn't there."

"No, but thanks guys. I think I just need some time on my own." Like the good friends they were, they nodded and went back inside, leaving me alone with the moon and starlight. Not exactly sure where I was going, I started walking. I sucked in a deep breath of the cool night air and could almost feel it clear my head. As my feet carried me with relatively few stumbles across the grass, I tried to think calmly about the recent rough spots of the past few days. Failing at that, I focused on reflecting on some of the happier moments of my life. I raced through the memories of Fall Formal, knowing they would just pull me back to my current source of pain.

Inevitably, my thoughts turned to life at home with my parents. They had both been so loving, and my memories of special times with Charlie and me brought back some of the unhealed hurt in my heart. A twinge still got to me when I remembered how little I had thought of him lately. The pain from the fear of knowing that eventually I wouldn't remember the sound of his voice or his hugs was overwhelming sometimes. I didn't know how long I'd been wandering when I realized my steps had taken me down the path through the line of trees onto the big lawn. It stretched out in front of me, the silvery smooth expanse inviting me to lie down and watch the stars above.

I was about to walk out onto it when a movement caught my eye. From the trees several yards away, a figure emerged dribbling a soccer ball. Some useless instinct inside me told me that it was Edward, and my eyes confirmed this to be true. I was entranced for a few moments by the fluidity and power behind his movements, and couldn't help but envy his grace and coordination. But when he began playing the ball closer to my spot shadowed in the edge of the trees, I knew I had to get out before he saw me and accused me of stalking him or something.

Trying my best to be sneaky, I silently turned around and made my way into the underbrush. But the trouble with underbrush is that you can't ever tell what's under it, which is how I ended up catching my toe on an exposed root and falling flat on my face. Before I had even moved a muscle to get up, I felt hands encircling my waist and lifting me to my feet. The butterflies that shot through my stomach took my breath away and my heart threatened to go out of control at Edward's touch. Without even turning around, I knew he was the one to catch me and I didn't trust my weak emotional state to say anything other than a whispered "Thank you"

I couldn't even look at him as I walked away as fast as I could or I knew I would say something would I regret. His ability to raise ridiculously strong emotions in me was becoming slightly annoying; there was really no point if he was just going to be a jerk and believe stupid stories about my reputation. So I kept my mouth shut and continued walking back through the trees.

My progress was stopped by an arm holding my shoulder. "Wait," his velvet voice said. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I snapped quickly, "Just trying to walk here." I wrenched away from the touch that sent tingles across my skin. He didn't reach out again.

"Well fine. You don't have to be such a pain," he retorted. That was too much; that one word set me off, reminding me of the aching hole that Charlie's death had left. I whirled around to face him and saw his expression change from one of irritation to concern when he read the hurt and anger written clearly all over my face.

"What would you know about pain?" I yelled. "Just because you're perfect and nothing bad ever happens to perfect people doesn't mean you can't try to understand that those of us who are ordinary might have lives that are less than perfect." My voice cracked with tears at the end of my rant, but I was too far gone to be embarrassed. Barely aware I was still talking, I whispered, "You can't know pain the way I do."

Not bothering to look at his reaction to my explosion, I turned back into the trees and dashed to the path. It took a little while to get a grip and stop the tears that kept sliding down my cheeks when I reached my room. Once again, I couldn't sleep without Edward's jacket. Comforted by the security that enveloped me with his smell, I felt a twinge of regret for yelling at him. But I was sure he hated me anyways, so surely it wouldn't make a difference either way.

* * *

Edward's POV

Bella couldn't have known what she was saying last night. Every time I was close to her confirmed my self-diagnosis as a masochist. I was discovering pain every day because of my inexplicable need for Bella but at the same time dealing with the betrayal of hearing the first hand accounts of her kissing Jake. It was too late either way. I was too far in with her, but I could never let her know that, or she would just play with my heart and break it. How could I have been so wrong about her? My stupid feelings had blinded me and now I had to pay. Just thinking about what had probably happened with her and Jake simultaneously filled me with hot rage and emptied my very being.

Of course, I had to voluntarily put myself in pain; it was worth being near her and feeling as though I was keeping her from any more bad behavior. Monday in Biology was a prime example. Coming into class and seeing the empty lab table where she usually sat with Jake had made my gut twist. There was no way in hell I was watching them sit together and do whatever they felt like doing in front of me for the rest of the year while I suffered next to Lauren. So I took Jake's seat. I knew being so close to her would make the pain that much more acute, but I would rather suffer near Bella than anywhere else in the world.

Her words last night in the woods kept echoing in my mind, right along with the haunting image of her grief stricken, tearful eyes. _You can't know pain the way I do._ What had caused such an angel so much hurt? I knew it was just going to be another widening of the already gaping hole she was leaving in my life, but I wanted to fix her. I wanted to be the one she could trust in sharing her pain.

_Edward, freaking stop thinking about her! _My own brain was yelling at me to leave it alone. Deliberately causing myself pain; masochism wasn't fun for anyone, especially me. I tried to refocus on the task at hand. All day I'd tried to think about everything but Bella and hadn't been successful. But usually practice and weights were enough to occupy my full attention, and today wasn't the case. I felt distracted and anxious as I walked to the leg extension machine for another set.

My already tense mood became tighter when I heard Jacob Black's voice around the corner of the hall. Just hearing him talk made me want to go beat him unconscious. An attempt to ignore his voice was impossible; he was talking loud enough for the whole room to hear: "Yeah, I'm going back out to the woods with Bella again tonight. She told me she couldn't wait for the next time."

Red fury clouded my vision, even though I knew it shouldn't. If that was what Bella wanted, I was in no position to keep her from it. I simply couldn't deny the jealousy that an angel like her would choose to do it with a player like Jake. He would never be able to appreciate everything about her. Jake only used up the outside package and threw it away. Against my better judgment, I decided to follow Jake tonight. I could think of nothing more difficult than watching them together, so perhaps once I saw it for myself, I would finally be able to get over things.

I followed through with my plan, staking out Jake's entry and exits from the guy's dorm later that evening. He really didn't leave that much, just for a can of soda from the vending machine. But finally at the stroke of eleven, he stepped out of his door and headed outside towards the tree-path and the lawn. I went silently behind him by quite a distance and was glad because when I recognized Bella's lovely figure silhouetted far away in the moonlight on the lawn, I couldn't help but suck in a breath at her beauty.

Enviously I watched as Jake made his way directly over to her and slipped an arm over her shoulders. He started walking her into the trees and her face wasn't visible to me, so there was no way to judge how she was feeling about everything. It would have killed me to see even a shred of excitement or happiness from being with him. And again like a stalker, I followed carefully into the trees where they had disappeared only moments before.

In the dim light filtering through the trees, it took a while for my eyes to adjust, but I could hear voices clearly: "… you telling everyone the lie Lauren made up was true?" Bella's voice reached me first and I just caught the last part of her question.

"Bella, it's not a lie, it's just the future truth—" Jake said before Bella cut him off.

"It is a lie and you know it, Jake. Nothing happened on that beach Saturday night."

"Of course not, but I figured that you were just playing hard to get." _What? _My world started to spin again.

"Why are you even here, Jake?" Her tone was brave and tough, but I could hear the tiny waver of fear in it. She thought she was all alone out here and I hated to imagine what might happen if she was. Most likely something along the lines of all the rumors flying around about her. Rumors that I was realizing were false.

"Oh, I just so happen to have figured out that you like to take walks outside about this time, so I came looking for you. And guess what… I'm here to get you tonight. All this talking about something I can't have all week long has really started to make me crave it—you." My eyes were now adjusted to the darkness, but more importantly, what I had thought was true was suddenly totally shifted. I hadn't believed Alice and Rosalie when they told me, but hearing it from Jacob Black himself confirmed beyond a shadow of a doubt that he and Bella hadn't done anything dirty at all Saturday.

I was so wrong and so stupid. I wanted to kick myself for not believing Bella, but there was no time right now because Jake was reaching towards her to grasp her waist. The familiar red fury returned to me, but this time it had an outlet: before I knew what I was doing, I had leaped forward and thrown him to the ground. His astonishment was almost tangible as he stared up at me from the flat of his back. Soon he was up on his feet, demanding through his teeth, "How did you get here, Cullen?"

I didn't bother answering him, dodging away from his angry punch and delivering another of my own. I felt the sickening crack of his nose beneath my knuckles, wishing I could put him through as much pain as Bella had suffered through partially because of him. However, I was just going to have to settle for giving him a couple black eyes, a split lip and a broken nose. Once he quit making snide comments, I knew he was done. "You even think about touching Bella again, I will come after you so fast you'll wish all I did was break your face," I warned.

Leaving him in a bloody mess on the forest floor I turned to Bella. She was looking at me with such a mix of emotion in her eyes I had no idea what she was thinking. But she had to know that the only thing that was important right now was how completely and utterly wrong I knew I had been. "I'm so sorry," I began, stepping toward her, when I saw her waver a moment before crumbling.

"Edward…" I barely heard my name escape her lips as I was immediately at her side to catch her. Her whole body was shaking and I was pierced with the knowledge of how scared she must have been, facing Jake alone in the darkness. My brave Bella…

"Everything's fine now, it will all be okay, love," I promised holding her close, before realizing in shock what I had just said. It wasn't that I didn't feel that way about her, because I truly did to the core of my being. What shocked me was that I was enough of a monster to even pretend that I deserved her trust after all I had said and put her through.

But she didn't seem to notice; Bella just laid her head on my chest and gradually I felt her shaking subside in my arms. "Maybe I should get back to my room now," her faint voice sighed. An image of Lauren and Jessica flashed through my mind and there was no way I was letting her go back to those two. How she had made it this long with those fiends was incredible; she really was an angel.

"Nope," I said, "I'm taking you to Alice and Rosalie's."

"But that's not my room," Even after this terrible experience, she was still stubborn. I lifted her into my arms and she was too weak from the scare to protest.

"I am not taking you back to hell with them," I muttered determinedly. "You deserve far better than them." And better than me, I added in my head. This was all I had to look forward to with her, enjoying the way her beautiful head rested on my shoulder as I carried her to the girls' dorms. After what I had put her through, not trusting her word, she had every right to tell me to leave her alone. But for now, I could fight her battles and hold her when she couldn't go on herself.

As we neared the lights of Medsen Hall, her tired voice mumbled, "Need the jacket…" before lapsing back into silence. I had no idea what that meant, but I did know that from now on, I would do anything to make Bella happy.

* * *

**There you go! Now he knows and they can finally start seeing each other for what's really true.**

**Review if you like... because I know I like them! Even though after my huge delay, I know I don't deserve them... ( sorry!**


	11. Starting Over

**Let me just say that I apologize for the extreme delay on this chapter! I just can't find it in me to rush through them and it's been hard finding concentrated blocks of time to work on it. Hopefully updates will come sooner... sorry!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of Stephenie Meyer's characters, I just love them a lot!**

* * *

I wasn't sure what was real anymore; the evening had gone from my normal misery of being alone to a nightmare when Jake ambushed me in the woods and then finally to the dream I was in now, where Edward saved me from Jake's advances and I was cradled in his arms. I really hoped that last part was true; it certainly felt real right now as I peeked up at Edward's face. The muscles in his jaw were tight and his mouth was a hard line. I couldn't read his eyes in the darkness, but I felt the tension also in his arms and brisk pace. If he was this worked up, surely the rest of the night had been true as well. Suddenly I was totally exhausted from all the emotional ups and downs of the past few days. Just trying to figure out what had just happened was confusing.

The night had started normally enough; I'd sneaked out of my room so I didn't have to listen to Lauren and Jessica giggling and talking with their friends in the main room. I'd begun taking these late night walks since Monday of this week because of that. At least, that's what I told myself. Deep down I tried to deny the hope that Edward might be out there again, but I knew that it was as much of a reason as getting away from the gossip. I knew I needed to apologize for my outburst on Tuesday night, but I was too chicken to do it in front of anyone. Selfishly, I didn't want his rejection of me to be totally public so this was my stupid way of hoping we would meet again and I could take care of that particular wrong I had done.

Unfortunately, wandering in the woods and across the lawn only temporarily gave me a break from Jess and Lauren's snickering, and I hadn't run into anyone else tonight, especially not Edward. Until Jacob Black had appeared.

At first I was just mildly surprised to see him when he draped his arm over my shoulders. After all, he had been heavy on my mind all night as I reviewed my wrecked reputation. "Hey Bella," he smirked. "You wanna go finish what we started this weekend?"

"Jake, why can't you freaking leave me alone?" I sighed, trying to slip out from under his arm, hardly noticing that he was leading us into the trees.

"Because I want you, Bella, and I'm not very patient." He spun me to face him by my shoulders and I almost tripped on the underbrush of the woods. He stared into my face from under his shadowed brows. He looked… hungry. I was anxious to break his gaze.

Without really thinking, I fired my main question at him. "Jake, you know what really happened last Saturday—absolutely nothing! So why are you telling everyone the lie Lauren made up was true?"

"Bella, it's not a lie, it's just the future truth—"Jake said and I exploded in disbelief.

"It is a lie and you know it, Jake. Nothing happened on that beach Saturday night." Was he delusional? Could he not remember?

"Of course not, but I figured that you were just playing hard to get." Suddenly my situation really hit me. I was alone in the dark trees with Jacob Black. No one else knew I was out here, and I was fairly sure that Jake knew that as well. Fingers of fear slid down my back as I realized that he could do what he wanted now with no one to stop him.

"Why are you even here, Jake?" I tried to sound brave, but I was afraid my voice was shaking as badly as my knees were.

"Oh, I just so happen to have figured out that you like to take walks outside about this time, so I came looking for you. And guess what… I'm here to get you tonight. All this talking about something I can't have all week long has really started to make me crave it—you." As he spoke, the fingers of fear turned into a cold, grasping hand. A scream started to claw its way up my throat when he stepped forward, reaching out to clutch my waist, his eyes raking me up and down. Frantically I tried to remember any of the self-defense techniques I had learned years ago from Charlie, but just as I was about to strike out at him, another shape launched itself between us.

The shadowy figure slammed into Jake and knocked him to the ground several feet away from me. My heart still pounding a thousand miles an hour, I strained in the darkness to see who had joined us. All I could tell from solid shape between me and Jake was that it was a guy. Jake scrambled to his feet and faced him angrily. Just as the thought flashed into my head that I could possibly be in twice as much danger if it was another guy who would take advantage of me, Jake's voice, spit through his teeth, revealed his identity: "How did you get here, Cullen?"

Edward? I only had a split second to be shocked at who my rescuer was before my heart leapt into my throat when I saw Jake throw a punch toward Edward. But Edward feinted to the side, dodging Jake's swing and following through with a smash right into Jake's nose. There was a nauseating crunch and I prayed it was Jake's face, not Edward's knuckles. I wanted to tell Edward to stop, to not get hurt, but when I saw the blood spurt out of Jake's nose, my stomach turned and I had to work on getting control of myself.

I had once thought that Jake and Edward would be fairly evenly matched if they ever got in a fight, but I could see tonight that I was wrong. Jake tried, he really did, but he was no match for the angel of destruction that was Edward. Through my breathless fear for his safety and the nausea that rose from the smell of blood, I could not help but marvel at the power and wrath he unleashed on Jacob. It was both beautiful and terrifying.

Stupid Jake kept up a stream of insults, mostly about me and why would Edward fight for a whore. This, however, did not help his case at all. Jake didn't stand a chance against this furious Edward. Briefly I let myself wonder if he was so outraged because of my vulnerability, but dismissed that thought immediately. He didn't even care for me; he must have anger issues.

Finally, Jacob was silent, his face bloody and sullen. Edward stood over him and snarled, "You even think about touching Bella again, I will come after you so fast you'll wish all I did was break your face." Then he turned to me. The black fury that blazed from the face of a war god faded when he met my eyes and became so devastatingly tender that my breath caught. I wanted so badly to believe that he wanted me. Edward carefully stepped toward me and whispered, "I'm so sorry." Those little words broke every semblance of control I'd had and I could feel myself waver under all the emotions of the past minutes.

"Edward…" was all I could get out before my knees buckled and then he was there. Edward's arms wrapped around me were the only things holding me together in that moment.

"Everything's fine now, it will all be okay, love," his whisper caressed my ear. _Love?_ _I must be going crazy._ I would have been embarrassed at how much I was shaking, but the main two thoughts registering in my brain were: my head is resting on Edward Cullen's chest and he may have just called me love. Luckily my face wasn't in view so he couldn't see my blush; hopefully he couldn't feel the heat through his shirt.

Eventually I regained some control over myself and reluctantly realized I would have to break this ever so pleasant contact. My voice unintentionally petulant, I said, "Maybe I should get back to my room now."

I tried to raise my head but his arms tightened, holding me fast against him. "Nope, I'm taking you to Alice and Rosalie's." His voice was firm and a wave of relief washed over me as I considered that option. But I just couldn't bring myself to impose on them.

"But that's not my room," I protested, weakly attempting to wriggle away from him. A gasp escaped my lips as Edward leaned down and scooped me up. Staring into his perfect face so close to me now, those gold eyes burned earnestly into mine. My breath caught and my heartbeat became erratic.

Quietly and authoritatively he said, "I am not taking you back to hell with them. You deserve far better than them." And with that he had carried me back along the path and towards Medsen Hall, cradling me in the protective circle of his arms.

Reflecting back on all of this as the dorm's lights grew closer and brighter, I realized my head had fallen onto his shoulder. It felt so natural to curl into the shelter of his arms and lean against his strong frame; though I knew I shouldn't give my feelings away, I couldn't bring myself to move. Adding to my irrational immobility, my face was buried in Edward's chest, his intoxicating smell filling my lungs. It was like his suit jacket, only more concentrated, banishing all thoughts of Jake and danger from my head and replacing them with Edward.

If I was going to be in Alice and Rose's apartment tonight, I was going to need that jacket for sure. Once Edward left after dropping me off, I couldn't be certain that the panic would overwhelm me. Unfortunately, it was still in my room with Lauren and Jess. Too worn out and content to form a coherent thought, I mumbled, "Need the jacket…" half to myself. Somehow I would have to get that before trying to sleep. For now, I just cuddled closer into Edward's chest, soaking in his scent in real life. I thought I felt his arms pull me a little nearer.

Too soon, he was carrying me past Medsen Hall's main door and carefully maneuvered us both through a side door close to Alice and Rose's room. Without bothering to knock, Edward pushed their door open with his foot and carried me over the threshold. "Alice… Rose…" he hissed in a loud whisper as he brought me over to their couch and sat down, still cradling me on his lap.

Rose's voice floated from her room: "It's too late for you to be here, Edward. Guys have to leave by midnight." But when she appeared in the doorway I saw her eyes widen in confusion at the sight of the two of us. "What hap—" she started, when Alice burst into the main room.

"Edward, you can't be in here—" she began before spotting me wrapped in his arms. Immediately she dashed to my side and fired off a million questions: "What's wrong? What happened to Bella? Did you hurt her? Is she okay? What's going—"

"Shhh, Alice. Relax or you'll stress her out even more," Edward said, glancing down at me with worry written all over his face.

"Calm down, I'm fine," I tried to reassure everyone, but it came out in a mumble against Edward's shirt.

Edward shook his head, hearing the lie in my voice, before turning back to Alice and Rosalie. "Do you have anything with sugar?" he asked, "I don't want her going into a state of shock." Alice's mouth dropped open in alarm and Edward cut off her gasp: "I'll tell you what happened _after_ Bella has had something to eat."

That moved the girls into action, and Rose started looking through their mini fridge while Alice ransacked the shelves next to it. I watched, half interested, and then tilted my head back to look up at Edward. My intention had been to protest all the fuss, but meeting his bewilderingly intense topaz eyes staring into mine threw off my train of thought. "I… um… I'll be okay," I objected uncertainly. "And I don't want you getting into trouble if you're caught in the girls building."

"That is the least of my concerns right now," he said, his voice making my insides tremble. He tucked me closer into his chest with one arm and freed the other to trace my jaw with gentle fingers. I wondered if he felt the same electric current between our skin that I did…

"Alright, lovebirds, we got the food, now what's going on?" Alice's impish smile at interrupting the moment caused blood to flood my cheeks, but her voice betrayed her real concern behind the question.

"We have Pop Tarts, pudding cups, Coke, M&Ms, cookies, popsicles, honey roasted almonds, french toast bagels, Twinkies…" Rose listed off the food she was stacking in a mountain on the end table beside us.

"No wonder Alice always has so much energy," Edward muttered, and then looked down at me. "Pick something. You eat, I'll talk," he bargained.

"Just a Pop Tart," I sighed, grumbling under my breath about overreacting superheroes. Realizing I would look like a big baby eating a snack on his lap, I shifted to move off of him. His hands tightened around me for a split second and I caught a hurt expression flash across his face. "I don't want to get crumbs all over you," I explained and he rolled his eyes but let me sit on my own next to him. I couldn't help but notice the exchange of significant looks between Alice and Rosalie sitting on the other couch, which only made me blush redder.

Once a Pop Tart was unwrapped and I had taken a bite big enough to satisfy him, Edward began. "So I guess this all started earlier tonight after practice. While I was lifting in the weight room, I heard Jacob Black in there running his mouth about Bella. Among other things, he said he was going to meet her in the woods again tonight." I hadn't known about this and I could feel against the side of my body how tense he was remembering it. He was practically growling the words. I risked a glance at his furious expression and he turned from Rose and Alice's rapt attention to meet my gaze. "Sorry if this next part makes me look like a stalker, but maybe I kind of was. I waited for Jake to leave the dorm and trailed him out to the lawn." His eyes were slightly ashamed, but I couldn't imagine anyone I would rather have as a stalker than Edward, especially if he protected me from guys like Jake.

Noticing I hadn't taken another bite yet, he told me, "Keep eating," before turning back to the girls. "So once I'd followed him to the lawn and saw Bella waiting for him, I was sure the rumors were true after all. But when he started leading her into the trees, I kept following…" his face flushed a little at this admission. "I guess I just needed to see it for myself to come to terms with it, no matter how much it hurt." _What?_ "Yet when I got close enough to hear what they were saying, I heard Jake admit it himself that nothing had happened between them. That was when it started to sink in what was really going on. When he started grabbing at her, I—I lost control."

Edward dropped his head, reluctant to admit his weakness. Remembering my own fear in that moment, I shuddered against him. "I'm so glad you did," I whispered, too quietly for anyone else to hear. But he did and his chin lifted again. His arm went around my shoulders and he rubbed soothing circles on my back as he continued.

"Once I had hold of myself—and Jake had felt almost enough pain to punish him for what he'd done—I saw Bella looked pretty shaky, so I brought her back here. I refuse to let Jessica and Lauren within a mile of her," he growled. "That's about it."

Alice and Rose's faces were incredulous, and I didn't blame them. It was quite the drama. I felt a little uncomfortable in the silence that followed Edward's story so I said, "If it's going to be a problem to stay here, that's fine… I'm done with the Pop Tart, so I'm feeling a lot better and I really don't think it's neces—"

"Bella, you're staying here." Rose told me. "We won't let you stay with them anymore either."

"Actually, this is kind of interesting, because we were planning on asking you to consider moving in here with us anyways," Alice said. She saw my skeptical expression and said, "No really, come look." Typical Alice, she bounced up from her seat and dragged me upright, pulling me toward the third, unused bedroom. Rosalie went to turn the light on in the room and Edward followed closely behind, in case I collapsed from shock, I supposed wryly.

When Alice led me through the doorway, my jaw dropped in disbelief. There were dark blue satiny curtains in the window, an antique silver lamp sitting next to the bed frame, which was covered in a midnight blue silky comforter with coordinating pillows, and a blue and gray swirl area rug on the floor. Everything was dusted and clean and there was even a little potted plant sitting on the corner of the desk. It was perfect. I turned to Alice and Rosalie with tears pricking my eyes and asked, "You really, actually want me to room with you?"

"Of course we really, actually do!" Rose teased, hugging me around the waist.

Alice flitted around the room straightening the already perfect curtains and rotating the plant on the desk, saying, "I hope you like it… I wanted to get you this new bed set with that gorgeous comforter and pillows and sheets, but Rose said it would be too much and maybe you would want to keep your own sheets so it wasn't all new, but I bought it anyways when she wasn't looking, but I won't be hurt if you don't want to use it… These colors just looked like you and we both wanted you here so badly I thought that if we had the room all ready for you to move into, you couldn't say no and—"

"Alice!" I threw my arms around her neck laughing. "I would have loved to come live with you with or without new curtains!"

Her answering smile was positively radiant and she, Rose, and I all laughed and hugged, celebrating our new roommates.

A slight cough reminded us that Edward was still there. He leaned comfortably in the doorway and he looked just as happy about the situation as we were. "Alice, this is another once of those instances where I'm grateful for your overeager plotting," he grinned.

"Come on, brother," she swatted him on the arm, "It's not like I'm the only one who inherited the Cullen overreaction gene." He just smiled in response.

"I think it would be great if Bella could stay over starting tonight," Rose suggested. "I know we can't move everything in here right now, since it's almost one and she needs sleep, but what if we just got stuff for tonight and tomorrow morning. We could pick everything else up after classes are done."

"Yes," Edward agreed. "That's exactly what I was hoping for. Would you be okay with that, Bella?" he asked me, his warm eyes pleading with me not to be stubborn just this once. And just this once, I had no intention to.

"Fine with me," I answered them all, and Alice immediately started planning.

"Great! Okay, so you can use our shower stuff and wear our pajamas tonight, and all we'll have to grab now is your toothbrush, book bag, and an outfit for tomorrow. Or maybe I should just take care of that…" she trailed off, no doubt considering my unacceptable wardrobe. "Anything else I'm missing?"

A blush rose to my cheeks when I remembered one last necessity. "Well, I need a jacket," I mumbled and Rosalie looked confused.

"We have lots of jackets here if you need one," she offered, but I shook my head, avoiding Edward's eyes.

"No, this is a certain one. I—I just need it," I explained lamely. "It should be lying over the back of my desk chair. You'll probably know it when you see it," I told Alice and Rose, blushing fiercer than ever.

"Alright, we'll get that too," Alice promised, and I sighed in relief, both that I would be able to fall asleep with Edward's scent and that they didn't question me any further in front of him. Yet if he went with them to get my things, then he would see it and think I was pathetic. My sudden panic was interrupted by Alice's voice once again: "Edward, can you stay here with Bella while Rose and I run over to get her things? You're not supposed to be here now, remember? Besides, I don't really want you losing your temper with Lauren and Jessica, either."

Perfect. Maybe I could convince him to leave right before they got back so he wouldn't see it. "Sure," Edward agreed, and Alice and Rosalie dashed out the door on their mission. I hoped that Jessica and Lauren would be asleep by now so they wouldn't have to deal with those two.

Tiny flutters flew through my stomach when Edward turned back to me as the door closed be hind them; we were alone now. This was as good a chance as I would get to apologize for yelling at him on Tuesday night. Besides, I needed to keep my thoughts in line; standing in front of this gorgeous boy made my mind go down paths it shouldn't. The planes of his chest, the bronze hair falling over his forehead…

I opened my mouth and started to speak at the exact moment he did:

"I'm so sorry for my behavior—"

"I could never apologize enough for—"

We stared at each other, surprised for a second before breaking into nervous laughter. "Ladies, first," Edward said, ever the gentleman. "Though I have no idea what you have to be sorry for."

I swallowed and kept my gaze fixed on his collar. I knew his eyes would just bewilder me into incoherency. "Edward, I just wanted to tell you how sorry I am for yelling at you last night. No matter what my issues are, I had no right to behave so rudely and dump it out on you. You didn't deserve an outburst like that and I'm really sorry about it."

"Bella." His voice made my name sound like a caress. Slowly I brought my eyes to meet his and was dazzled by the intensity in their golden depths. "That is nothing to be sorry for. You don't know how much I wish I deserved your confidence, how much I want to know you and help make the pain go away. But instead I just hurt you more." I tried to protest, but he kept going. "I understand if you can't forgive me for a while, if ever, but I need to apologize for being so stupid and doubting your word. I've been horrible to you for the past few days and I wish I could take back every rude thing I said or did. Just know that it will never happen again. You are the only one I trust now when it comes to you."

"You've always been forgiven," I whispered. My throat was tight with emotion, and I tried to lighten the mood. "I'm not sure Jake will grant you the same pardon, though."

"I wasn't planning on asking him for it," Edward grinned. I felt so weightless now that things were solved between us.

Alice and Rosalie chose that moment to burst back in the door, carrying all my loot from their raid. "Got it all!" Alice crowed triumphantly.

"_All_ of it," Rose repeated, with a dangerous looking grin on her face. "Even the jacket."

_Oh crap. _I'd forgotten to try and make Edward leave before they got back and now my face blazed bright red as Alice held out his suit jacket for all to see. I made an ill-timed lunge for it before he could see it clearly and she snatched it out of my reach. I almost lost my balance, but ended up standing awkwardly in between Edward and his jacket. "Is that… my suit jacket?" Edward asked. Wishing the floor would open up and swallow me, I nodded.

I could feel everyone's eyes on me and I tried to fake a normal sounding voice. "Do you want it back, because it's fine, I don't _really_ need it…"

"No, no," Edward interrupted quickly. "It's all yours. I didn't realize you still had it. If you don't mind me asking, though, why do you need it?"

This was so humiliating. "It, um, helps me get to sleep." The "awww's" coming from Alice and Rosalie did not help my blushing situation, but I looked up at Edward anyway. I almost had to blink; his face was so lit up.

"Keep it as long as you want," he murmured and I couldn't break the stare.

Alice was the one who cleared her throat and snapped us out of it. "It's been a big night, and I think it's time that you sneaked back out and Bella got some sleep… especially now that we've got the security blanket."

"Shut up, Alice," I growled, grabbing the jacket out of her hands. I turned to Edward, my face still pink, and said, "Well, thanks again for rescuing me. I don't know what I would have done without you."

"I don't even want to think about that," he said earnestly. "Sleep well, Bella." He reached out one hand and stroked my cheek with his thumb. His touch left a burning trail on my skin and my eyes closed in pleasure. Before I knew it, he had slipped out the door and was gone.

"Well, that was… interesting," Rose commented meaningfully. Alice giggled. I was almost afraid to face them.

* * *

Rosalie's POV

Lying in bed after letting Bella go to sleep finally, I thought about the evening. Bella and Edward. They were so adorable together. First Edward saved her from nasty Jacob Black. Actually beat him up for her. And then he carries her all the way back here and takes care of her, hovering like a mother hen. Remembering him worrying about Bella going into shock like a freaking certified nurse still made me smile.

But there was more to it than that. I could see the connection between them; the sparks were practically visible. The way he looked at her like she was the only thing that existed to him made me melt a little bit inside. He touched her like she was a soap bubble or a precious gem. I had never seen Edward so captivated by anyone before.

Then there was Bella. Anyone could see by how she nestled in his arms her trust in him. Her adoring eyes watching his every move and the way her blood rushed into her face every time she found him staring at her. They were a pair, that was for sure.

I was so glad that Edward had brought her to our room. Ever since we had become friends with Bella, Alice and I had been planning to ask her to room with us. Once the situation with Jess, Lauren, and Jake had come up, we'd started working faster to get her room done. Now it was all taken care of, thanks to Edward. I was excited to have Bella live with us. We had only known her for a couple of weeks and already we were great friends.

Besides, living with us was going to be way better than living with Lauren and Jessica. I didn't know how she'd handled it for so long! I would have ripped their heads off by now.

When Alice and I had left Bella and Edward together to get Bella's stuff, we'd guessed at what they would talk about, hoping that they would get all this figured out. I was just happy that Edward finally knew the truth. Knowing him, he would be eaten alive with guilt over the whole thing. But when we got back, they were smiling like everything was good. It was going to be so much fun watching them flirt now.

Speaking of fun, both Alice and I knew we were in for some real fun when we found the jacket Bella was talking about. Discovering that it was Edward's suit jacket, we couldn't resist embarrassing her in front of him. It was the cutest thing in the world to find out that she couldn't sleep without it. Edward's face was priceless; he was in so far, and I thought Bella would be permanently red.

Yes, there would be good times ahead, I knew this already. Things would be so awesome now that Edward had someone and I was glad that it was someone as amazing as Bella. He had been on his own for a long time now and she fit him perfectly.

Just wait until Jasper and Emmett found out about this. I chuckled quietly to myself; Bella and Edward had better get ready for some major teasing, because with Emmett, they were definitely in for it.

* * *

**Okay, I feel like things are tied up pretty well... let's get a little plot moving now. Review! I love and appreciate them so much!!**


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